A bill was passed today Thursday in the US House of Representatives in order to avoid it the partial paralysis of the federal state apparatus, following the agreement reached yesterday Wednesday between Democrats and Republicans.

In particular, 207 Democrats and 113 Republicans voted in favor of the bill, against 99 who voted against it.

The bill, which must also be approved by the Senate, provides for the extension of the funding of the federal state apparatus by one week, until March 8, as the deadline for preventing the so-called “shutdown” – i.e. the suspension of the operation of certain public services – expires on Friday.

Current funding expires March 1st for some federal agencies, including the Department of Transportation. For others, such as the Ministry of Defence, the deadline is March 8th.

The American government came dangerously close to shutdown in the fall, when hard-line Republicans fired former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy over his temporary state funding deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.