Government shutdown live updates: Republicans look for last-ditch effort to fund the nation through Christmas
Frustrated speaker Mike Johnson forced to return to drawing board once again after second bill defeated in House of Representatives by 235 votes to 174
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Your support makes all the difference.House Speaker Mike Johnson and congressional Republicans are scrambling to find a new deal to avert a US government shutdown before federal funding runs out at midnight on Friday.
The White House Office of Management and Budget has already begun warning government agencies to prepare for the worst.
The Capitol has meanwhile been wracked with confusion this morning, with members offering mixed messages as they left the speaker’s office on the prospect of progress.
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 that leaves the government once more hurtling towards an impasse.
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.
“These 197 Democrats voted against keeping the government open, disaster relief, and aid for farmers.”
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Good morning!
Donald Trump and Elon Musk have lashed out after House Speaker Mike Johnson’s Plan B congressional spending bill, drafted at their insistence to include a suspension of the debt limit and remove a number of concessions to Democrats, was comprehensively defeated in the House of Representatives last night by 235 votes against to 174 for.
The result is a major embarrassment for the GOP and the incoming president that leaves the US government once more hurtling towards a shutdown unless an alternative can be agreed by midnight tonight.
This is what the president-elect had to say in a statement in response:
“Nearly every single House Democrat just voted against government funding and to shut down the government.
“These 197 Democrats voted against keeping the government open, disaster relief, and aid for farmers.
“As Vice President-elect JD Vance said, Democrats ‘asked for a shutdown and I think that’s exactly what they’re going to get.’”
Elon, the great disrupter, lashed out on X along similar lines:
None of that is true, however, as Trump and Musk’s bullying tactics also failed to convince no fewer than 38 Republicans.
This was the immediate reaction from Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries:
Here’s a full report from Alex Woodward and Eric Garcia.
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Speaker Mike Johnson says House vote is ‘very disappointing’
Speaker Mike Johnson blamed Democrats for the failed House vote said Republican leaders will find another way through.
“We will re-group and we will come up with another solution. So stay tuned,” Johnson told reporters tonight.
It’s very disappointing to us that all but two Democrats voted against aid to farmers and ranchers, against disaster relief, against all these bipartisan measures that had already been negotiated and decided upon.”
Trump celebrated the deal just hours ago
Donald Trump celebrated the deal just a few hours ago.
Read his Truth Social post in full.
JD Vance blasts Democrats for voting against the deal
JD Vance blasted Democrats after the House failed to avoid a government shutdown tonight, CNN reports.
“The Democrats just voted to shutdown the government even though we had a clean CR (continuing resolution), because they didn’t want to give the president negotiating leverage during his first term — the first year of his new term,” Vance said, according to CNN. “And number two because they would rather shut down the government and fight for global censorship b******t, they’ve asked for a shutdown and I think that’s exactly what they’re going to get.”
The network reported that Vance did not respond when asked about the 38 Republicans who also voted against the bill.
Lawmakers regroup after House rejects Trump-backed plan on shutdown
Minutes after Republicans’ plan to avert a shutdown and raise the debt ceiling failed in the House, congressional leaders regrouped to consider what to do next.
Rep. Steve Scalise, the House Republican leader, said they wouldn’t try to bring the bill back to the floor.
Meanwhile Rep. Chip Roy, who spearheaded Republican opposition to the bill, was defiant outside the chamber. “I’m ambitious to make sure that we actually cut spending. I’m ambitious to do what we said we would do,” he told reporters.
On the opposite side of the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, said: “It’s a good thing the bill failed in the House, now it’s time to go back to the bipartisan agreement we came to.”
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