Trump-backed bill to keep US government running fails to pass

The US House of Representatives has voted against a Donald Trump-backed funding measure, bringing a government shutdown this weekend a step closer.

A revised spending plan failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed in the lower chamber of Congress, with 38 Republicans voting against the bill on Thursday night, defying the president-elect.

Trump had thwarted a previous cross-party funding deal that the Republican House leadership had struck with Democrats, after heavy criticism of the measure by tech billionaire Elon Musk.

After the bill failed by 174 votes to 235, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would come up with another solution on Friday before government funding lapses at midnight.

The Trump-approved replacement bill would have tied government funding to a two-year suspension of the federal debt limit, which determines how much the government can borrow to pay its bills.

Republican rebels objected because they oppose increases in government spending, while Democrats voted against it because they said the extra borrowing would be used to give tax cuts to the wealthy.

Here are five things to know about the possible government shutdown:

The now-looming government shutdown can be traced back to September, when another budget deadline loomed.

Johnson failed to pass a six-month funding extension. Mostly Democrats voted against the extension, which included a measure (the SAVE Act) to require proof of citizenship for voting.

Instead, Congress came to a bipartisan deal for a bare-bones bill that would keep the government funded through 20 December.

Johnson pledged to his Republican conference then that come December, when the funding was set to expire, they would not have to vote on an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink spending bill ahead of the holiday recess.

But when congressional leaders released the text of the latest spending bill on Tuesday, three days before lawmakers were set to break for the holidays, it totalled 1,547 pages.

The bill would have extended government funding until March 14 – nearly three months after Trump is set to return to the White House.

It included more than $110bn (£88bn) in emergency disaster relief and $30bn in aid to farmers; the first pay raise for lawmakers since 2009; federal funds to rebuild a bridge that collapsed in Baltimore; healthcare reforms; and, provisions aimed at preventing hotels and live event venues from deceptive advertising.

Some Republicans criticised Johnson for abandoning a more basic spending bill, specifically condemning left-leaning provisions that were negotiated to win support from Democrats.

Johnson defended the deal, putting the blame on “acts of God” for needing some of the added provisions, like disaster aid and assistance for farmers.

Still, opposition for Johnson’s spending deal grew on Wednesday.

Musk, who Trump has tasked with identifying spending cuts by co-leading the Department of Government Efficiency ( which is not an official government department), lobbied heavily against the existing deal with dozens of posts on X.

He called it “criminal” and often referenced false statements about the bill in his posts.

Musk wrote on X that any lawmaker “who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years”.

After Musk drummed up opposition for the spending bill, Trump and JD Vance, the incoming vice-president, dealt the final blow to Johnson’s deal that evening.

They said in a joint statement they wanted streamlined legislation without the Democratic-backed provisions that Johnson had included.

They also called for Congress to raise or eliminate the debt ceiling, which determines how much the government can borrow to pay its bills, and limit the funding legislation to temporary spending and disaster relief.

They called anything else “a betrayal of our country”.

Johnson and House Republicans introduced the streamlined legislation on Thursday, which then failed in a vote that evening. It’s not clear what they will do next.

Lawmakers are not expected to vote again on Thursday, meaning they’ll return on Friday morning with less than 24 hours on the clock until a potential shutdown.

But it’s clear the partisan blame game is in full swing. After the Thursday bill was shot down, Johnson told reporters it was “very disappointing” that almost every House Democrat had voted against it.

“It is, I think, really irresponsible for us to risk a shutdown over these issues on things that they have already agreed upon,” he said.

Johnson will likely need Democratic support, especially as divisions inside his own party over the bill became clear this week.

But Democrats are unlikely to help Johnson with support for a revamped funding bill, blaming him for breaking their bipartisan agreement.

“You break the bipartisan agreement, you own the consequences that follow,” Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries posted on X, which is owned by Musk.

And others seemed to taunt Republicans for seeming to take their direction from the unelected Mr Musk.

On the House floor on Thursday, Connecticut Representative Rosa DeLauro – the top Democratic appropriator in the House – called the billionaire “President Musk”, to laughter from fellow Democrats.

“President Musk said ‘don’t do it, shut the government down,'” she said.

Still, Johnson needs to find a way to win over Democrats in order to pass a spending bill, especially when pent-up anger within his own caucus is set to boil over.

Time is also of the essence. These negotiations usually take weeks.

Federal agencies rely on annual funding to function. When Congress fails to pass the 12 spending bills that make up the spending budget, these agencies must discontinue non-essential functions.

Essential services – like border protection, in-hospital medical care, law enforcement and air-traffic control – continue to operate.

But many federal employees may go without pay.

While Social Security and Medicare checks are sent out, benefit verification and card issuance stops. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s funding is mandatory, but food stamp benefits may be impacted by a shutdown. This could lead to delays for similar assistance programs.

Other agencies stop operations entirely.

The Food and Drug Administration halts food safety inspections, the Environmental Protection Agency stops inspections and National Parks close to visitors.

This was the first big test of Trump’s influence over current congressional Republicans, and in the vote on Thursday, a number of them balked.

It also poses a challenge for Speaker Johnson, as the House is set to vote in just 15 days on who will serve as the House Speaker for the next Congress.

What previously looked like a secured position for Johnson is now seeming less of a sure thing.

Facing backlash from Trump and Mr Musk, the Louisiana Republican is now under scrutiny from those in his own party over his handling of government funding.

Several Republicans have indicated they will not vote for Johnson to lead the chamber. He cannot afford to lose the support of many Republicans, given that the party holds a slim majority of only five seats in the next Congress.

The threat to Johnson is serious, given Republicans’ recent history.

In January 2023, California Republican Kevin McCarthy went through 15 rounds of ballots before winning the speakership.

Just 10 months later, he was ousted by Republicans, who faulted him for failing to cut spending and for working with Democrats to avert a government shutdown.