Deal averts US federal shutdown just in time

Democrats blast Republicans for pushing to cut activities including research one day before agreement reached

The US Congress has managed to avert a federal shutdown at the last gasp, enabling the continuation of publicly funded activities including vast swathes of research.

Many thousands of federal workers, including at agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, would have been forced to down tools on 1 October due to a lack of agreed federal funding, had politicians not finally reached a deal on a ‘continuing resolution’ to provide temporary funds pending an agreement on the 2024 budget.