Government shutdown live updates: Speaker Mike Johnson promises Congress will ‘meet obligations’ as Republicans offer new plan
Speaker Mike Johnson promises there won’t be a government shutdown as Donald Trump blames Democrats for funding impasse
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.House Speaker Mike Johnson has said that there will not be a government shutdown as Congressional Republicans scramble to find a last-minute solution to funding the government.
“We will not have a government shutdown and we will meet our obligations for our farmers who need aid, for the disaster victims all over the country, and for making sure that military and essential services and everyone who relies upon the federal government for a paycheck is paid over the holidays,” Johnson said Friday.
Federal funding runs out at midnight on Friday and the White House Office of Management and Budget has already begun warning government agencies to prepare for the worst.
The crisis erupted after Johnson’s second congressional spending bill, drafted at the insistence of Donald Trump to include a suspension of the debt limit and remove a number of concessions to Democrats, was comprehensively defeated in the House of Representatives on Thursday night by 235 votes to 174.
The result was a major embarrassment for the incoming president, Elon Musk, and the GOP.
The president-elect responded by complaining in a statement: “Nearly every single House Democrat just voted against government funding and to shut down the government.”
Elon Musk lashes out as he gets first taste of political failure when spending deal voted down
Network of lawyers and advocates being built to support those targeted by vengeful Trump
Americans view both Musk and Trump equally favorably, says new poll
ICE’s $230m budget shortfall might delay Trump’s mass deportation plans
Watch: McConnell’s final remarks as Republican senate leader
In his last floor remarks as leader of the Republican Senate conference, Sen. Mitch McConnell said, “Folks come to Washington to do one of two things: either to make a point or to make a difference … it’s usually not that hard to tell who’s doing which, especially in situations like the one we’re in right now.”
‘Transition activities will be restricted’ during shutdown, press secretary says
The White House has warned that a possible shutdown would affect the presidential transition process.
“Transition activities will be restricted,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday, according to Politico. “We’re doing everything to ensure a smooth transition, but the choice to allow a transition to move forward is in the hands of Republicans in Congress.”
The only transition activities that would remain unaffected would be those required to “prevent imminent threats to the safety of human life or the protection of property,” she added.
Trump announces Brian Burch as US ambassador to the Holy See
I am pleased to announce that Brian Burch will serve as the next United States Ambassador to the Holy See.
Brian is a devout Catholic, a father of nine, and President of CatholicVote.
He has received numerous awards, and demonstrated exceptional leadership, helping build one of the largest Catholic advocacy groups in the Country.
He represented me well during the last Election, having garnered more Catholic votes than any Presidential Candidate in History!
Brian loves his Church and the United States - He will make us all proud.
Congratulations to Brian, his wife Sara, and their incredible family!
‘It’s been a disappointing week’
Rep. Jim Banks, who’s heading to the Senate in January, said, “It’s been a disappointing week, but I won’t be around in January to weigh in on House leadership, but I imagine a lot of Republicans ... [are] looking for something different.”
Raskin: Republicans are engaging in ‘legislative whiplash'
Rep. Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, blasted Republicans for conducting “legislative whiplash” as they scramble to find a solution to funding the government.
“So they think that they can engage in this process of legislative whiplash and then coercion at the last minute,” Raskin said. “And they think it’s very clever, but in reality, it ends up damaging them because the American people reject that as a way to govern, and it’s enormously wasteful and profligate to shut the government United States down.”
Congressman floats theory that Musk has promised Trump a ‘windfall’ if he does billionaire’s bidding
Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman of New York suggested Thursday night that Elon Musk would provide President-elect Donald Trump with a “windfall” if the incoming commander-in-chief does the bidding of the X owner.
The Tesla CEO was successful in his efforts to take down a continuing resolution that was set to allow the government to remain funded through Christmas, forcing Speaker Mike Johnson back to the drawing board.
Musk tweeted against the bill Wednesday before Trump did the same, pushing for it to be voted down. Speaker Mike Johnson then withdrew the bill before introducing a shorter version Thursday which was rejected even as it was backed by both Musk and Trump.
Read more:
Congressman floats theory that Musk has promised Trump a ‘windfall’
‘The political and legacy media puppets all got their new instructions yesterday and are now parroting the same message to drive a wedge between @realDonaldTrump and me,’ Musk says
Senators lament Elon Musk’s influence and say shutdown would have been avoided if he ‘kept his mouth shut’
Democrats and Republicans in the Senate are both fed up after Elon Musk torpedoed a spending deal at the behest of President-elect Donald Trump and might trigger a government shutdown.
Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff criticized the fact that the legislation delayed crucial assistance to victims of Hurricane Helene and Milton in his home state of Georgia.
“Disaster relief and economic assistance for Georgia farmers would already be on the way if Elon Musk could kept his mouth shut,” he told The Independent.
Read more:
Democrats and Republicans in the Senate are frustrated with Elon Musk’s antics
‘That’s the kind of s*** you run into when you started listening to people who aren’t elected,’ one Democratic senator tells The Independent
Johnson promises no government shutdown
Speaker Mike Johnson has told reporters that there will not be a government shutdown.
“We will not have a government shutdown and we will meet our obligations for our farmers who need aid, for the disaster victims all over the country, and for making sure that military and essential services and everyone who relies upon the federal government for a paycheck is paid over the holidays,” Johnson told the media.
He added that the Republicans have a “unanimous agreement in the room that we need to move forward.”
“I expect that we will be proceeding forward,” he told the press.
‘Trust breached’ after Musk gets involved in funding fight
Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar said he doesn’t have much “clarity” on what Republicans are going to do amid the government funding fight.
“The details matter. And see what they move forward. They know how to reach Leader Jeffries, but it’s clear that the easiest bipartisan solution that gets us out of this mess, and that’s what we negotiated,” Aguilar added.
Regarding whether trust between the parties has been breached after Elon Musk dove into the funding fight, Aguilar said, “I think that there has been some trust that’s been breached. I mean, we had an agreement, and they backed away from that ... but look, we want to find a solution. We want to keep government open. The best, fastest way is the bipartisan solution that we negotiated.”
Trump team warns Starmer’s ‘horrible, arrogant’ ambassador pick means Britain will be ‘locked out’ of key discussions
Peter Mandelson’s nomination as Britain’s new ambassador to the United States has provoked fury within Donald Trump’s team, with one insider calling it a “horrible, arrogant” choice and his campaign coordinator publicly calling the Labour peer a “moron.”
The choice of the former EU commissioner and Blair-era minister, who previously attacked Trump as “little short of a white nationalist and racist”, prompted a warning that Britain will be “locked out of the most important discussions” with the president-elect’s team because of a lack of trust.
Read more:
Trump team aide calls new UK ambassador Lord Mandelson a ‘moron’
President-elect’s team deeply unhappy at Starmer’s choice for Britain’s new top diplomat
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments