Obama wasn't overly impressed with Republicans not shutting down the government

President Obama zings Congress over government shutdowns

(Image credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

Wednesday evening, President Obama signed a stopgap spending measure that will fund the federal government through Dec. 11, hours after the Republican-led House and Senate approved the measure and hours before a midnight deadline. The measure passed easily in the Senate, 78 to 20, but House Republicans had to rely on Democrats the clear the bill, 277-151, because conservative members were displeased that it didn't include a measure to strip all funding from Planned Parenthood.

Obama told a group of state lawmakers that he was pleased the Republicans didn't force a government shutdown, as they had for 17 days in October 2013, but he threw in a touch of sarcasm. "The good news is that it looks like the Republicans will just barely avoid shutting down the government for the second time in two years. That's a somewhat low bar but we should celebrate where we can," Obama said. "The bad news is that it looks like Republicans will just barely avoid shutting down the government again for the second time in two years."

As Paul Waldman notes, the shutdown threat isn't over — it's just delayed until Dec. 11. Stay tuned.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.