Leaders in the United States Congress reach consensus on a temporary funding bill, according to insider information.

U.S. congressional leaders have reached an agreement on a two-stage stopgap spending bill to extend federal government funding into March, averting a potential partial government shutdown set to begin late next week, according to a source familiar with the matter as reported by Reuters on Saturday.

Media outlets, including Politico, CNN, and Punchbowl, initially disclosed the agreement on a “continuing resolution” (CR), designed to fund the government and extend two critical deadlines to March 1 and March 8. A spokesperson for Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer mentioned that the details of the spending deal are expected to be available online on Sunday. Another source, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the accuracy of the earlier reports to Reuters.

Funding for certain federal agencies, such as the Department of Transportation, is set to expire on January 19, with others, including the Defense Department, facing a deadline on February 2. While congressional leaders had previously agreed on a $1.59 trillion deal on January 7 to fund the government for the current fiscal year, failure to pass it by January 19 could trigger a partial government shutdown.

Several lawmakers argued for a short-term funding bill to provide bipartisan negotiators from both the House and Senate the time needed to finalize spending bills for the entire fiscal year 2024. Senate Majority Leader Schumer initiated the procedural steps on Thursday to pass a stopgap funding bill through the Senate early next week, allowing additional time for lawmakers to approve the full-year legislation.

Last autumn, the U.S. narrowly avoided a partial government shutdown due to opposition from hardline House Republicans, who ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy over his bipartisan stopgap spending deal with Schumer.