Congress late Wednesday afternoon approved a short-term spending bill to avoid a government shutdown, pushing to December the deadline to pass a budget. The Senate approved the bill, which funds the government at the same level as last year, by a vote of 78-20 on Wednesday morning. Sen. Tom Carper, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said in a written statement after the vote that compared to a shutdown, a continuing resolution “sends the signal that sanity reigns in the Senate.” Still, he said, Congress has fallen into a habit of “crisis governing … lurching from one crisis to the next,” which hurts morale and makes the federal government less effective. The House approved the measure two minutes before 5 p.m., voting 277 to 151 to keep the government functioning until Dec. 11. Ninety-one Republicans and 186 Democrats voted in favor of the bill in the House, with 151 Republicans dissenting. Republicans had previously championed a measure that would fund the government through that date but eliminate all funding for Planned Parenthood.
A Golden Dome task force established under U.S. Northern Command earlier this year has a broad remit, which includes fielding the capability to defend the U.S. against missile and drone attacks, its leaders said this week. Some of the primary focuses right now are ensuring Golden Dome can defend itself…