The Senate advanced a major spending bill directing tens of billions of dollars to the Department of Homeland Security at 3 a.m. Friday, with only five senators present, sparking criticism on social media.
The bill would fund most DHS operations, excluding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, moving lawmakers closer to ending airport disruptions caused by the funding lapse.
While Senate rules require a majority of the 100-member chamber to conduct business, a procedural loophole allows legislation to pass with minimal attendance if no senator requests a quorum call to verify attendance. None of the five senators in the chamber on Friday morning invoked this verification mechanism, allowing the handful of lawmakers to approve billions in taxpayer spending.
Social media users criticized the process, with observers questioning how so few legislators could approve such significant funding and characterizing Congress as a "not-funny joke."
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