The U.S. government is inching closer to a holiday shutdown after a 11th-Hour spending bill failed to pass in the House on last night. With the current funding set to expire on Friday at midnight, lawmakers are running out of time to avoid a shutdown.
The Republican-led effort needed 290 votes to pass but only managed to secure 174, leaving it far short. Interestingly, 37 Republicans joined 196 Democrats to block the bill. This split within the GOP has left many wondering what’s next... Continue reading here ▶
The chaos didn’t stop there. President-elect Donald Trump, along with Tesla’s Elon Musk, heavily criticized an earlier funding proposal that House Republicans had tried to push through.
That plan, which would have funded the government until March, was slammed by Trump and his allies. They put the blame squarely on House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Late Thursday, Republicans rolled out a new version of the bill, which Trump celebrated as a win on his social media platform, Truth Social. He called the plan the American Relief Act of 2024 and said it was a “very good deal for the American people.”
According to Trump, the bill would keep the government running, provide disaster relief, and offer support to farmers. He also highlighted a key change—pushing the debt ceiling issue to January 30, 2027. “Now we can Make America Great Again very quickly,” Trump posted.
Even with Trump’s endorsement, the bill’s future was uncertain. Just an hour before the vote, there were doubts about whether it had enough support to pass. The proposal aims to fund the government for three months and includes $110 billion in disaster relief.
But the road ahead looks rough. In the Senate, Republican Senator Rand Paul has already predicted that up to 30 GOP members will vote against removing the debt ceiling.
For now, the clock is ticking, and without an agreement, a government shutdown during the holiday season could become a reality.
