US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California, speaks to the press on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on September 30, 2023. Last-gasp moves to prevent a US government shutdown took a dramatic step forward Saturday, as Democrats overwhelmingly backed an eleventh-hour Republican measure to keep federal funding going for 45 days, albeit with a freeze on aid to Ukraine. The stopgap proposal adopted by the House of Representatives with a vote of 335-91 was pitched by McCarthy. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP)