House votes to avert shutdown, but quick Senate OK in doubt

By KEVIN FREKING and LISA MASCARO
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has passed a bill that funds the government through Feb. 18 and avoids a short-term shutdown after midnight Friday. But quick passage of the measure in the Senate is in doubt because of a fight over President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates. A temporary federal shutdown is still possible this weekend because some Republican senators are objecting to those mandates. President Joe Biden says he’s spoken with Senate leaders and he’s playing down fears of a shutdown after midnight Friday. Biden says there’s “a plan in place unless somebody decides to be totally erratic, and I don’t think that will happen.”