Senate passes defense spending bill

The Senate voted 85-7 to pass a massive "minibus" spending package that includes $675 billion for defense.

The minibus package also includes funding for the departments of Health and Human Services, Education, Labor and other federal agencies.

Earlier this week, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) cautioned his colleagues against adding "poison pills," or controversial amendments to the spending bill that would force it into a partisan quagmire.

One such amendment that threatened to delay the bill was proposed by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), which would have defunded Planned Parenthood. The Senate voted the measure down, however, 45-48.

The minibus passage means the Senate will now be able to enter conference committee negotiations with the House, which passed its defense spending bill in June.

If the lawmakers are able to pass a final appropriations package before the start of fiscal year 2019 on Oct. 1, it will be the first time Congress has done so in recent memory.

Conversely, should Congress be unable to pass a final spending package, lawmakers will have to pass a stopgap continuing resolution or face a government shutdown.

Lawmakers on the Senate floor, however, were optimistic about the future of the bill given its bipartisan support.

Prior to the bill's passage, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) said today is "a good day here on the floor of the United States Senate."