The U.S. Senate passed the continuing resolution early Saturday morning, sending it to Joe Biden for his signature.

The Senate approved the bill with an 85-11 vote, following the House’s passage by a 366-34 margin.

This swift legislative action came just past the deadline, around 12:30 a.m.

The legislation, now en route to President Joe Biden’s desk, extends federal funding through March 14, 2025, and allocates over $100 billion for disaster relief and agricultural aid.

“At midnight, the White House said it had ceased shutdown preparations,” according to AP.

The White House, anticipating a potential shutdown, had initiated preparatory measures but ceased these actions following the bill’s approval. Joe Biden is expected to promptly sign the legislation.

The bill’s passage follows a tumultuous week in Congress, marked by intense negotiations and interventions from prominent figures, including President-elect Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk.

An earlier agreement by Schumer-Johnson was derailed after Trump and Musk criticized the deal, leading to significant revisions in the proposed legislation.

The final package allocates $100 billion for disaster relief and $10 billion for farmers, while extending expiring farm and food aid programs.

Notably, it excludes provisions for a debt ceiling increase, a point of contention advocated by Trump but ultimately omitted to secure bipartisan support.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who faced criticism from both Trump and Musk during the negotiation process, managed to rally support from all Democrats. The House passed the measure with a 366-34 vote.

Johnson addressed the press following the vote:

“We are really grateful that tonight, in bipartisan fashion, with an overwhelming majority of votes, we passed the American Relief Act of 2025. This is a very important piece of legislation. It funds the government, of course, until March of 2025. That was a big priority for us.

This is America First legislation because it allows us to be set up to deliver for the American people. In January, we will make a sea change in Washington. President Trump will return to D.C. and to the White House, and we will have Republican control of the Senate and the House. Things are going to be very different around here.

This was a necessary step to bridge the gap, to put us into that moment where we can put our fingerprints on the final decisions on spending for 2025. We also, in this bill, as you know, took care of Americans who desperately needed and deserved the assistance. We had a record hurricane season. Hurricanes Helene and Milton, in particular, did dramatic damage across at least six states—the Carolinas, Virginia, Florida, Tennessee—all the way through. They have been waiting for the federal government to assist.

We did that tonight in this bill. We also took care of our farmers, many of whom were on the brink of collapse because of Bidenomics—exactly because of the inflationary cost of their inputs and the inability they have right now to get loans from the banks and lenders to put their crops in the ground, to put the seeds in the ground in the spring. We had to take care of that, and we did. We are excited about this outcome tonight. We’re grateful that everyone stood together to do the right thing.

Having gotten this done now as the last order of business for the year, we are set up for a big and important new start in January. We can’t wait to get to that point. We encourage swift passage in the Senate now. They need to do their job as the House just did. We will all go home. I want to wish everybody a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year because I hope not to see you until we can get back over that.

I was in constant contact with President Trump throughout this process. I spoke with him most recently, about 45 minutes ago.

He knew exactly what we were doing and why, and this is a good outcome for the country. I think he certainly is happy about this outcome as well. Elon Musk and I talked within about an hour ago, and we discussed the extraordinary challenges of this job. I said, “Hey, you want to be Speaker of the House? I don’t know. The hardest job in the world.” I think it is. But we’re going to get through this.

We are going to unify this country, and we are going to bring the America First agenda to the people beginning in January. We cannot wait to get started.”

The House just passed the American Relief Act with OVERWHELMING support.

This America First legislation delivers much-needed relief for Americans devastated by the hurricanes and our hardworking farmers, and it sets up President Trump to start delivering on DAY ONE. pic.twitter.com/85fEJT5WIY

— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) December 20, 2024

This is a developing story.

The post JUST IN: U.S. Senate Approves Government Funding Bill Just in Time to Avoid Shutdown — White House Ceased Shutdown Preparations appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

CNN’s Scott Jennings, the conservative breakout media star of 2024, recently called out Democrats and the media for repeatedly covering up Biden’s condition over the last four years.

He asks when accountability is coming for the people who went on TV and lied to the American people over and over again.

He refers to this as ‘the biggest scandal in America’ and he drives the point home using facts.

FOX News has details:

Lies about Biden’s age, health during his presidency is a ‘scandal of epic proportions,’ Scott Jennings says

CNN’s Scott Jennings criticized the White House for hiding President Biden’s health and age issues from the public in a segment on Thursday.

“This is the biggest scandal in America,” Jennings said on CNN. “And the level and volume of people who dedicated themselves to lying to everyone at home about this man’s condition for four-straight years up through this summer is breathtaking.”

A Wall Street Journal report from Thursday that includes interviews with nearly 50 people, including current and former White House staffers who interacted directly with the president, revealed that Biden’s stamina issues were apparent even during his first few months in office.

“It‘s a scandal of epic proportions and it’s a fair question to ask — who is running the country?” Jennings said. “Who has been running the country?”…

“If you‘re worried about Donald Trump‘s advisers having influence — for the last four years, apparently, this president, duly elected, this president was not capable of fulfilling the duties of the office. And his staff and the White House lied about it and kept it from the American people,” Jennings said. “It‘s an absolute scandal.”

Here’s the video:

.@ScottJenningsKY: “I just have to ask when the accountability is going to come for every single person who sat in front of a television, who held some position of responsibility and lied their rear end off about what they were seeing behind closed doors…” pic.twitter.com/zXTKxLA30C

— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) December 20, 2024

You can watch the full segment below, if you like.

Jennings deserves credit for the honesty of his analysis, now and over the past year. He is one of the only reasons to ever watch CNN.

The post CNN’s Scott Jennings: When is ‘Accountability’ Coming for Those Who Lied to the American People About Biden’s Condition? (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Justine Bateman, the increasingly based actress best known for the hit 1980s show Family Ties, recently appeared on the Megyn Kelly podcast and celebrated the end of the last four years which she correctly slams over leftist ‘mob mentality’ and cancel culture.

Bateman made similar comments on the Jesse Watters show shortly after the election, but with Megyn she had more time to expand on her thoughts.

She refers to the last four years as the ‘revenge of the hall monitors’ and decries the fact that people were punished or had their lives ruined for asking even the most basic questions.

She is right about all of this.

Transcript via Real Clear Politics:

JUSTINE BATEMAN: I don’t remember a time in my career where there was an absence of criticism of me — or of anybody, for that matter. There’s nothing unique about me in that sense…

All I’m saying now is I’m glad that mob mentality momentum is over, because the last eight years, and most acutely the last four, were unbearable.

I never want to go through anything like that again in my life. It was the most un-American situation I’ve ever been in. I’m 58, and it was absolutely awful. To say that people can’t ask questions, can’t say what they think, or can’t request research on something—it was just like the revenge of the hall monitors.

It was the Debbie Downers, the party poopers. One of the things about the social media video critiques I’ve done — you know, I’m not doing that many anymore because people aren’t getting as crazy about things. But I’ll still do them for subscribers as Christmas presents, if they want a gift for their mom or sister. It’s a good present, right?

There’s something about satire, Megyn — comedy and satire were among the first things to take a dive when they got squashed. If you have satire and comedy in a society, you have balance.

It’s like an insect in nature that keeps certain things at bay. Eliminate that insect, and here comes a vine choking the trees. Satire and comedy are like that. They hem in a society and maintain balance. Those were two elements they got rid of to enable this squashing down, this hall-monitor-style purification of comedy.

Watch the segment below:

“The last eight years and, most acutely, last four years, were fucking unbearable…”@JustineBateman gives director’s notes for unhinged leftists melting down after Trump’s victory.

Watch and subscribe: https://t.co/Y12z2uKGMb pic.twitter.com/9dvH5vdahf

— The Megyn Kelly Show (@MegynKellyShow) December 18, 2024

Bateman is a member of Generation X. People in this age group voted overwhelmingly for Trump in November, for many of the reasons Bateman describes in that video.

The post Based Actress Justine Bateman Celebrates End of ‘Mob Mentality’ of the Last Four Years: ‘Never Want to Go Through Anything Like That Again’ (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

During a recent episode of his podcast, Joe Rogan spoke to former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, about the way Democrats, the media, and the deep state, used the judicial system against Trump, noting that had it worked, would have set a dangerous precedent for the country.

You could easily make a case that it set a dangerous precedent even though it didn’t work, but Rogan’s point is well made.

He correctly points out that Democrats and the left in general, were willing to burn down everything that makes America what it is, just because they didn’t want Trump to win again.

For his part, Blagojevich, who is a Democrat and spent some time in prison on corruption charges, claims that he was like an early test case.

Partial transcript via Kanekoa the Great on Twitter/X:

“If the weaponizing of the justice system worked, that is such an insanely dangerous precedent.”

“The most disgusting one was pretending someone was a victim because he overvalued Mar a Lago even though he paid those loans back and the banks profited. There was no victim at all, and yet they fined him this insane amount of money and tried to say Mar a Lago was worth $18 million.”

“No pushback from the media at all. They went along with it as if these 34 felonies for a bookkeeping error that is essentially a misdemeanor past the statute of limitations, and now you’re marking it up as a felony. You can’t even identify the felony.”

“Do you want us to be a banana republic because you don’t like Trump? It shows how many people were willing to sacrifice their ethics, what the Bill of Rights stands for, and what the Constitution stands for because they don’t want this guy to win.”

“It’s mind-boggling how short-sighted people are in the name of wanting their side to win.”

Watch the video below:

NEW: Joe Rogan GOES OFF on Democrats, the legacy media, FBI, and DOJ for using the judicial system as a weapon against Trump!

Rod Blagojevich says “dirty cops” need to be held accountable for framing an innocent man:

• Jack Smith
• Alvin Bragg
• Letitia James
• Fani Willis… pic.twitter.com/y4KQh72qLM

— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) December 18, 2024

Hopefully, in the coming years we will see some of the people responsible for all of this brought to justice.

The post Joe Rogan Slams Democrats, Media, Deep State, for ‘Insanely Dangerous Precedent’ of Using Judicial System Against Trump (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Party City, the New Jersey based retailer that sells balloons and other festive supplies, is closing its doors for good.

This is apparently Joe Biden’s parting gift to American retailers, which have closed at an alarming pace over the last four years. We recently told you about a shopping mall in San Francisco that has been turned into a ghost town. This is more of the same.

It’s sad to see so many iconic brands fold like this.

The FOX Business Network reports:

Party City going out of business after 40 years

CEO Barry Litwin said it was “necessary to commence a wind down process immediately” for the party supplies retailer, CNN reported Friday, citing comments from a Party City conference call with its corporate workers.

While speaking Friday with Party City staff, Litwin reportedly said Party City’s “very best efforts have not been enough to overcome” the issues it has been facing and that the company has “done everything possible that we could to try to avoid this outcome.”

Party City corporate employees will lose their jobs after Friday, according to the outlet. The company is reportedly eyeing widespread store closures at the beginning of February.

Party City’s retail footprint in North America included over 700 company-owned and franchised stores as of late October, according to a press release published that month.

Difficulties from inflation, debt and other factors reportedly hurt the company. FOX Business reached out to Party City for comment on its reported plans to permanently close.

Some people are suggesting that the company went too woke.

After nearly 40 years in business, Party City is abruptly closing ALL stores today and staff will not receive any severance.

Also relevant to know: Party City made a huge DEI and LGBTQ push in recent years. Their business crumbled as they forced this agenda.

Go woke, go broke. pic.twitter.com/vfhWjHrwGL

— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) December 20, 2024

Here’s a video report from NBC News in New York:

Which will be the next domino to fall?

The post THE PARTY’S OVER: Party City Going Out of Business After 40 Years appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

First the sky over multiple New Jersey towns was a winky-blinky nightmare with mystery drones burrowing into the fears of residents.

And now, multiple towns in central New Jersey are dealing with stinky water.

Social media has connected the dots.

“A mysterious drone sighted over Round Valley Reservoir and the Hunterdon County 911 in Flemington Country! Also flying near the large reservoir in Clinton and surrounding buildings! But now the resident of New Jersey have question about ‘DO WE USE WATER?’” one social media post read.

“What are the drones spraying I saw it near my house in nj now wide 3 counties do not use water alert!!! Is it radiation in water!! Odd smells somerset county, Middlesex, union county!!County!!! What is going on these drones gotta stop now!!!!” another panicked poster wrote.

While acknowledging that residents facing two mysteries at the same time might oftentimes connect them, the U.K. Daily Mail noted that the more prosaic cause of a water main break could be to blame, while also noting that social media posts were not buying an accidental explanation.

“Drones flying over reservoirs spraying stuff. Go figure. My country is run by idiots,” The Mail quoted one social media poster as writing.

“[S]een this coming and warned everyone a couple days ago but everyone laughed at me. Guess that’s what happens when Drones are seen spraying everywhere including water reservoirs,” another poster cited by the Mail wrote.

New Jersey American Water posted an “urgent alert” as it investigated what the problems were in the Raritan System.

Residents have said the water had a metallic taste and smelled like paint thinner.

“We immediately began to investigate, taking samples from the source water, at different points in the treatment system of the two water treatment plants that serve this region, and at sites throughout the distribution system,” American Water said in a statement, according to NorthJersey.com.

“While preliminary sampling results show water meets primary standards, we are continuing to sample throughout our system to monitor water quality,” the statement added.

On Thursday, New Jersey American Water said there is nothing wrong.

“We are working with the NJ Department of Environmental Protection to determine if any other course of action or precautionary measures are necessary. We will continue to perform targeted flushing and sampling throughout the system tonight,” it said in a statement, according to CBS.

As for the drone mystery, the Federal Aviation Administration has banned drones from the airspace in multiple communities, but there has been no official explanation for the drone sightings that began last month in New Jersey.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

The post Update: NJ Residents Near Drone Hot Spots Reporting Strange Tasting, Weird Smelling Water appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.