 "US House Speaker Mike Johnson arrives to speak to reporters after the US House of Representatives rejected a Republican-led funding bill aimed at averting the closure. Reuters")
After a turbulent week, the House of Representatives passed a new funding bill on Friday evening, just hours before the US government was due to shut down. Interestingly, the bill, which was passed by the House, dropped US President-elect Donald Trump’s demand for a debt limit increase.
The bill was passed by 366-34 in favour and approved the government funding for the next three months. The legislation was soon sent to the Senate, where it is also expected to be passed. Chaos ensued after Trump and billionaire Elon Musk slammed the initial bipartisan stopgap bill at the very last minute. This raised fears of a government shutdown with the Democratic party leader referring to Musk as president instead of Trump.
Soon after the condemnation from the president-elect, a “Trump-backed” package was hastily drawn out by the House Republicans which called for a two-year suspension of the debt ceiling, which would have helped the incoming president enact his agenda. However, the move was rejected by his own party members and failed to garner support in the House.
White House slams Trump and Republicans
The bill which now sits at the Senate table, funds federal operations and disaster aid, but excludes Trump’s debt-ceiling proposal. On Friday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre launched a scathing attack against Republicans over how they handled the budget crisis.
“Republicans blew up this deal – they did – and they need to fix this, period,” she told reporters. “[Republicans need] to stop playing politics with a government shutdown, and … they’re doing the bidding of their billionaire friends, that’s what we’re seeing, at the expense of hardworking Americans," she added.
While Jean-Pierre didn’t name specific individuals, her remarks appeared to referencing Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who had publicly opposed an earlier bipartisan spending deal that was ultimately abandoned at Trump’s urging. “This is a mess that they created, and they need to fix this,” Jean-Pierre said.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsDoes Trump have a hold over the GOP?
The rejection of the Trump-backed bill on Thursday indicated that the president-elect might not have an iron-clad grip on the Republican Party, which was usually thought after he won the November 5 polls. Trump had furiously urged the package to be passed, including threatening to oppose any Republicans who go against his bill.
Despite numerous warnings from both Musk and Trump, Republican lawmakers on the right were outraged by lifting government borrowing limits – rebelled. Critics are now arguing that the recent breakdown gave an early glimpse of the chaos to come when Trump returns to the White House on 20 January.
It is pertinent to note that Friday was lawmakers’ final day to approve a new federal budget before a government shutdown would begin at midnight. If the Senate passes the bill before midnight, Congress will avert a government shutdown.
With inputs from agencies.