A brief government shutdown began before Christmas as the Senate worked to advance the House bill
The partial government shutdown began at 12:01 a.m. Saturday morning after Congress failed to pass a stopgap bill before the deadline and send it to President Biden’s desk.
However, the Senate is working hard on amendment votes and other considerations to send the measure to Biden. The stopgap bill is expected to be passed in the Senate in the coming hours.
The partial closure comes a few days before Christmas and New Year.
From Thursday, i US national debt it was at $36,167,604,149,955.61 and was continuing to rise rapidly.
The partial government shutdown began at 12:01 a.m. Saturday after Congress failed to pass a shutdown bill before the deadline. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images)
During a partial government shutdown, government agencies and non-essential services are suspended, but other activities considered “essential” will continue. Certain national security functions, such as border patrol, law enforcement and disaster response, will remain active during the shutdown.
However, because the Senate is expected to move the bill quickly, the disruption to government work will be minimal, if any.
The original deal on the short-term spending bill was released earlier in the week, which is 1,547 pages and includes a number of policy provisions and disaster relief.
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Musk’s public criticism of the bill preceded Trump’s statement. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
But soon after its release, billionaire Elon Musk and other conservative critics publicly blasted the measure, which was eventually condemned by President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance.
The first spending measure would have extended federal funding levels for the 2024 fiscal year through March 14 and provided more than $100 billion in disaster relief to those affected by hurricanes Helene and Milton in the US Southeast earlier this year. There was also a provision of 10 billion rands to help farmers economically in this bill.
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The size of the bill, along with several of its other provisions, including a cost-of-living increase for lawmakers, has prompted public backlash from Musk and others.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the newly announced co-chairman of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), arrives on Capitol Hill with his son on Dec. 5, 2024, Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
After going back to the drawing board, House Republicans emerged Thursday with a new proposal. The revised measure would have extended current funding levels for three months and included a two-year suspension of the debt ceiling, at Trump’s request.
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Additionally, it has provided economic relief to farmers and disaster relief of approximately $110 billion.
But the bill failed on the House floor Thursday night as Democrats rallied against it and a majority of Republicans voted against it again.
On Friday morning, there appeared to be no agreement between Democrats and Republicans in Congress to work on a new bill. In fact, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., have said the government will shut down at midnight if Republicans don’t go back on the original suspension bill.
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Rep. Chip Roy speaks to the media after the House of Representatives failed to pass a federal funding bill at the US Capitol on Dec. 19, 2024, Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“I’m ready to stay here until Christmas because we’re not going to let Elon Musk run the government,” Murray said in a statement.
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The House was able to pass the third version of the spending bill on Friday. It was similar to the second version, which included both economic benefits for farmers and disaster relief, but they did not have the debt ceiling suspension that Trump has been touting.
The bill received broad bipartisan support in the House and a green light from Biden, as the White House said it would support it. Even Schumer released a statement after the House passed, saying he was “confident” it would pass the Senate.
