A government shutdown was averted after frenetic eleventh-hour action last week in Congress to pass a continuing resolution, which is a short-term appropriations bill that extends the existing baseline level of funding. Under the terms of a previous CR passed on 25 September, the federal government was funded with a new deadline of 20 December. Because Congress has not passed the FY 2025 appropriations bills, another CR was necessary.The Senate closed its vote on approving the CR at 12:38 AM on Saturday 21 December, technically 38 minutes after the deadline, and President Biden signed the bill later Saturday morning, but the Office of Management and Budget had stopped its "shutdown preparations" late on Friday given the imminent action on t...