The United States is edging closer to a government shutdown after the House of Representatives rejected a spending bill supported by former President Donald Trump. The defeat came as dozens of Republicans broke ranks to join Democrats in voting against the measure.
If no agreement is reached by midnight local time on Friday, federal services will start to shut down in the early hours of Saturday. The Republican leadership in the House has pledged to find a solution to the funding impasse before the deadline.
Government shutdowns are a uniquely American phenomenon, stemming from a 1980 legal precedent that requires an approved budget for federal spending. Without such a budget, non-essential services are halted, and many public employees are left unpaid. Essential services, such as border security, healthcare, air traffic control, law enforcement, and power grid maintenance, continue to operate, although their workers must do so without pay during the shutdown.
Non-essential services affected by a shutdown include food assistance programs, federally funded preschools, student loan issuance, food inspections, and the operation of national parks. These disruptions often lead to widespread inconvenience and economic strain.
The latest spending proposal was the second in as many days to fail in the House, where a two-thirds majority is needed for passage. On Thursday night, 38 Republicans voted against the revised bill, defying Trump’s call for unity. This followed a Wednesday vote where a previous bipartisan funding agreement was thwarted after heavy criticism from tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Musk, who has been tasked by Trump to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency (a non-official entity), actively campaigned against the initial funding agreement. Using his social media platform X, Musk described the bill as “criminal” and urged lawmakers to oppose it, frequently sharing false or misleading claims. He declared that any legislator voting in favor of the bill should be ousted in the next election cycle.
The opposition stirred by Musk’s online lobbying culminated in a joint statement from Trump and incoming Vice President J.D. Vance on Wednesday evening. They criticized the deal brokered by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, labeling it a betrayal of the country. They called for legislation focused solely on temporary spending and disaster relief, free of Democratic-backed provisions, and urged Congress to raise or eliminate the debt ceiling to ensure the government can meet its financial obligations.
The revised bill introduced on Thursday included concessions to Trump’s demands. However, it faced resistance from Republican rebels who opposed increased government spending and from Democrats who argued that the additional borrowing would benefit the wealthy through tax cuts. As a result, the bill failed to secure the necessary majority.
This stalemate dates back to September, when an earlier funding deadline loomed. Speaker Johnson’s attempt to pass a six-month funding extension was blocked after Democrats opposed the inclusion of the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship for voting. Instead, a short-term bipartisan agreement was reached to fund the government until December 20.
As the Friday deadline approaches, Johnson has promised to present another proposal to avoid a shutdown. However, the path forward remains uncertain, with divisions deepening within both parties and no clear resolution in sight. The consequences of a prolonged shutdown could be severe, affecting millions of Americans and potentially undermining confidence in the nation’s governance.