The Senate passed a spending bill Saturday night averting a government shutdown that would have triggered a calamitous domino effect on the American public and economy.

The Senate approved a 45-day stopgap funding resolution and President Joe Biden signed the measure into law late Saturday with only hours to spare before a government shutdown.

The threat of a federal government shutdown ended late Saturday night after Congress approved a temporary funding bill to keep federal agencies open until Nov. 17.

By David Morgan, Moira Warburton and Makini Brice WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Congress passed a stopgap funding bill late on Saturday with overwhelming Democratic support after Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy backed down from an earlier demand by his party's hardliners for a partisan bill.