U.S. Senate passes spending bill to fund Trump Govt.

The United States Senate has approved a USD 1.1 trillion spending bill to fund the government through September.

The 79-18 vote on Thursday, now sends the legislation to President Donald Trump's desk, local media reports said. Trump is likely to sign the bill before Friday deadline.

The Trump administration on Wednesday moved one step closer to avoiding government shutdown after the House of Representatives approved a USD1.1 trillion spending bill to fund the government through September.

After Trump's signature, $598.5 billion for defence will be allocated, which is roughly $25 billion above 2016 levels.

The developments so far portend this would be the first major legislative victory for Republican President Trump.

Earlier, Trump had called for a 'good shutdown' in September to fix the "mess" in the Senate.

He said that the legislation needs 60 votes in the Senate because of the filibuster and suggested that it would be necessary to elect more Republicans or "change the rules."

"The reason for the plan negotiated between the Republicans and Democrats is that we need 60 votes in the Senate which are not there! We.... either elect more Republican Senators in 2018 or change the rules now to 51%. Our country needs a good "shutdown" in September to fix mess!" Trump said in a series of tweets.