Senate Tries To Pass Budget Bill, Approve Nominees

The U.S. Senate was called into a rare Saturday session to try to push through a $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill to keep the government open, but found itself enmeshed in another partisan dispute over confirmations of President Barack Obama's government appointments, the Huffington Post reported. Senators were stalled by conservatives Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah, who called Friday for a vote to defund Obama's recent executive order on immigration, forcing the Saturday vote and delaying matters into the weekend session. Senators also tried to push through several Obama nominees, but Republicans called for procedural votes that complicated the confirmation process. At last check, the Senate only was able to conduct a procedural vote for surgeon general nominee Dr. Vivek Murthy, who passed the first test by a 52-40 margin, the Post said.