Under Pressure from President Trump and Musk, Funding Bill Passes at the Last Minute, Avoiding Federal Shutdown

Under Pressure from President Trump and Musk, Funding Bill Passes at the Last Minute, Avoiding Federal Shutdown

Washington – At the last minute, a bipartisan plan passed in Congress to temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, avoiding a government shutdown. However, President-elect Donald Trump's demand for a debt ceiling increase has been postponed to the new year.

House Speaker Mike Johnson firmly stated that Congress would "meet its obligations" and would not allow federal operations to shut down before the Christmas holiday season. However, the process of avoiding a shutdown was uncertain, as Trump insisted that any deal should include a debt ceiling increase; otherwise, he posted on social media, "Let the shutdown start now."

The House passed Johnson's new bill with a vote of 366-34. Later, the Senate passed it 85-11 late into the night. At midnight, the White House announced that shutdown preparations had been halted.

"This is a good outcome for the country," Johnson said after the House vote, adding that he had spoken with Trump and "he was happy with this outcome."

President Joe Biden, who had played a less public role in the process, was expected to sign the bill into law on Saturday. "There will be no government shutdown," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

The final bill was Johnson's third attempt to avoid a shutdown, but it raised questions about whether Johnson would be able to keep his job, especially with angry Republican colleagues and ongoing cooperation with Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk.

Trump's last-minute demand was almost insurmountable, and Johnson was almost forced to work around his pressure for a debt ceiling increase. Republicans knew that many within their party wanted to reduce government spending, so they had to rely on Democrats' support to keep the government functioning.

This funding package was a much smaller 118-page version, which would keep government operations running until March 14, including $100 billion for disaster relief and $10 billion in agricultural assistance. Trump's demand for a debt ceiling increase was excluded, and it is now scheduled for debate in the new year.

House Democrats were cool to the effort, but they provided more votes for the bill's passage.

After the vote, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, "House Democrats successfully stopped extreme MAGA Republicans from shutting down the government, crashing the economy, and hurting working-class Americans."

President Biden is expected to sign the bill soon, thus avoiding a government shutdown, but the risk of a shutdown still looms, particularly with Trump's demand for a debt ceiling increase.