WASHINGTON (AP) — Passage of a six-month temporary spending bill would have widespread and devastating effects on the Defense Department, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said in a letter to key members of Congress on Sunday.

WASHINGTON — Democratic lawmakers and a coalition of civil rights leaders Tuesday urged Congress to reform the filibuster in order to pass voting rights legislation next Congress.

“Voting rights, succinctly put, are preservative of all other rights,” U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Georgia Democrat, said at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol.