Today on the Hill: Senate Votes on Spending Packages Expected Thursday

Congress moved one step closer to avoiding a government shutdown yesterday after the House passed two large “minibus” spending packages. Both measures passed on a bipartisan basis, with the domestic policy package passing on 297-120 vote, while the national security minibus passed 280-138. Senators are expected to vote on the fiscal year (FY) 2020 spending bills tomorrow in order to place them on President Donald Trump's desk ahead of Friday's government funding deadline. While White House officials have indicated that he will sign the measures into law, President Trump's position on the measures has yet to be explicitly stated.

Meanwhile, House lawmakers have begun a historic floor debate on articles of impeachment against the president. President Trump is set to become the third American president to be impeached in the House today on a largely party-line basis, with Reps. Collin Petersen (D-MN) and Jeff Van Drew (D-NJ) voting against both articles and Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) only voting for one article. Once the articles pass, the impeachment effort will head to the GOP-controlled Senate where it is largely expected to stall out.