The U.S. House of Representatives voted Friday to delay a government shutdown by just a few hours, with Democrats joining with Republicans to advance a funding bill keeping the lights on through mid-March.
Lawmakers have sent the Senate a package that would keep federal agencies running until mid-March — but the upper chamber only has until midnight (0500 GMT) to follow suit or federal agencies would begin shutting down. .
Although the House is run by Republicans, who introduced the bill, 34 of the party’s backbenchers voted against it, while almost every Democrat voted yes.
Senior Democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson posted on Twitter, “Today, Democrats are steadfast in our commitment not to division, but to collaboration. The American people deserve a government that works for them.”
Even if senators drag their feet, the government will stop funding at midnight, and non-essential operations will begin to grind to a halt, leaving 875,000 workers furloughed and more than 1.4 million left to work without pay.
However, the Democratic-led upper chamber will be expected to follow the House, and the main question now is how fast senators will move.
Setting the government budget is always a difficult task for Congress, as both chambers are closely divided between Republicans and Democrats.
The latest drama intensified after Republican President-elect Trump and tech billionaire Musk, their incoming “efficiency king,” pressured their party to back out of the funding bill they negotiated with Democrats.
Two subsequent attempts to find a compromise failed, leaving Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson at the last chance as he clashed with colleagues over keeping government agencies running.
If the bill fails Senate scrutiny, non-essential government functions would be put on ice. Employees in key services such as law enforcement will continue to work but will be paid only after government operations resume.
Many parks, monuments and national sites will close at a time when millions of visitors are expected.
– ‘let it begin’ –
The House-passed bill extends funding to the government until mid-March in a package that includes $110 billion in disaster aid and financial relief for farmers.
It is essentially identical to the bill that failed miserably in Thursday’s vote — except for the two-year suspension of the country’s self-imposed borrowing limit sought by Trump.
Musk once again appeared to be trying his best to rally conservatives against the deal ahead of the House vote, posting: “So is this a Republican bill or a Democrat bill?”
The world’s richest man’s influence over Republicans — and his apparent influence with Trump — has become the focus of Democratic attack, raising questions about how an unelected citizen could wield so much power.
There is also growing anger among Republicans over Musk’s interference, as he
“Last time I checked, Elon Musk doesn’t have a vote in Congress,” Georgia House Republican Rich McCormick told CNN.
“Now, he has influence, and he will pressure us to do what he thinks is right for him. But I have 760,000 people who voted for me to do the right thing for them.”
Under the rules governing the upper chamber, the Senate’s required rubber stamp could take several days, unless members agree unanimously to waive the normal procedure.
Trump has made it clear that he is willing to see a shutdown if he doesn’t get his way.
“If the government is going to shut down, let it start now under the Biden administration,” he said on social media.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
