House rejects Trump-backed deal to keep government running

WASHINGTON – Lawmakers rejected a deal backed by President-elect Donald Trump to finance a large part of the American government, making a partial stop seem almost inevitable as the end-of-year holidays approach and with a transition of power at the White House in just a month.

The House voted 235-174 to reject the spending bill, even though two-thirds of the House was needed for passage. Thirty-eight Republicans joined 197 Democrats in opposing the bill.

House Republicans were scrambling Thursday to craft a new continuing resolution, or temporary ways to keep things moving, after their initial bipartisan deal was reached. torpedoed by Trump And allies Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. The House GOP is expected to go back to the drawing board Thursday evening to determine its next steps.

Current government funding expires at the end of Friday.

The U.S. Capitol is seen at sunset on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the January 6, 2021 attack on the building, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 5, 2022. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., spent hours Thursday behind closed doors meet with other legislators and develop the refined bill, in the absence several of the provisions this had upset many members of his caucus.

However, some Republicans remain unconvinced, while Democrats, angered by Johnson’s abandonment of the previous bipartisan agreement, said “hell no”.

“The extremist Maga Republicans are pushing us toward a government shutdown,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who called the new bill “laughable.”

Without a last-minute deal on the table, the United States is heading toward a government shutdown, which means closing multiple federal agencies and laying off federal employees, among other consequences.

THE latest government shutdown in the United States also arrived during the holiday season and turned into the longest in history. Under the first Trump administration, this lasted 35 days from December 2018 to January 2019.

Below a stopall government services that are not considered “essential” – think the U.S. Postal Service or Social Security – will cease. National parks will close and government food assistance benefits will be delayed.

Contributors: Sudiksha Kochi, Riley Beggin

This article was originally published on USA TODAY: Government shutdown looms as Congress fails to reach agreement