Senate Republicans opted to strike on bipartisan momentum and take a key step to prevent a government shutdown almost two months before the deadline.The upper chamber voted in a bipartisan wave to clear the first procedural hurdle for a short-term funding extension that would see the government open through the midterm elections and into early December.It comes after Republicans have spent months hand wringing that Democrats would again shut the government down to score political points during the pivotal November elections.HOUSE GOP VOTES TO PUNT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN BATTLE TO AFTER NOVEMBER MIDTERMSSenate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and the GOP are gearing up for a floor battle with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats over Trump-backed voter ID legislation.(Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)The actual deadline to fund the government is not until Sept.
30, when the current fiscal year expires, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., argued that it’s better to move now then to wait to create more "certainty" in the coming weeks."There's been enough uncertainty this last year, and, you know, unfortunately, I think through two government shutdowns that extended for a long period of time, it's better for everybody if there's predictability, certainty," Thune said.Congress has been no stranger to shutdowns during President Donald Trump’s second term, with two of the longest in history taking place under Republican control of the legislative branch.SENATE WEIGHS NEW, PAINFUL LEVERAGE TACTIC AS FEARS OF ANOTHER GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN GROWThe first happened last year, and entered the record books as the longest full government closure that stretched over 40 days.That battle was over now-expired Obamacare tax subsidies, an issue that was never fully reconciled in the months that followed.Then came the shutdown earlier this year that stretched for over 70 days.
Democrats rebelled against a bipartisan funding deal after Ren...