A Republican spending bill by President-elect Donald Trump failed in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, leaving Congress without a clear plan to avoid a fast-approaching government shutdown that could disrupt Christmas travel.
By a vote of 174 to 235, the House rejected the spending package, which was hastily put together by Republican leaders after Trump and billionaire Elon Musk reached an earlier bipartisan agreement. Despite Trump’s support, 38 Republicans voted against the package, along with all but three Democrats.
Republicans control the legislative House by a majority of 219 to 211 seats. Thus, they could have no more than three “betrayals” if all Democrats united to vote against the bill. Republican Representative Rich McCormick had predicted that at least ten lawmakers from his party would vote against it.
The government funding is set to expire at midnight on Friday.
If lawmakers fail to extend that deadline, the U.S. government will begin a partial shutdown that will halt funding for everything from border enforcement to national parks and cut pay for more than 2 million federal employees. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration warned that travelers during the busy holiday season could face long lines at airports.
The bill largely resembled the previous version that Musk and Trump had criticized. It would have extended government funding until March, when Trump is in the White House and Republicans control both houses of Congress, and provided $100 billion in disaster aid and suspended debt.
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Republicans abandoned other elements that had been included in the original package, such as a pay raise for lawmakers and new rules for pharmacy benefits managers.
At Trump’s request, the new version would also have suspended national debt limits for two years — a move that would make it easier to pass the drastic tax cuts he has promised and set the stage for the federal government’s $36 trillion in debt. continued to rise.
Before the vote, Democrats and Republicans warned that the other party would be to blame if Congress allowed a government shutdown.
