House Votes To Avert Government Shutdown With Just Hours To Spare

The House approved a budget bill Friday evening to avert a government shutdown, sending the revised proposal to the Senate with mere hours to go until a midnight deadline.A last minute “Plan C” measure was approved 366 to 34, with all votes against the bill coming from Republican members. An initial bipartisan budget agreement was killed following opposition from President-elect Trump and Elon Musk. A second — and Trump-approved — version also failed, after 38 Republican members opposed it on Thursday, citing fiscal concerns.The third attempt at a budget bill, after hours of chaos on Capitol Hill, was unveiled Friday afternoon and runs only 118 pages long — significantly trimmed from the original version that ran longer than 1,500 pages.“The Speaker did a good job here, given the circumstances,” Mr. Musk wrote on X as the house vote was proceeding. “It went from a bill that weighed pounds to a bill that weighed ounces. Ball should now be in the Dem court.” The tycoon’s input on the process has become a flashpoint in recent days, as Democrats condemned him as “President Musk” – perhaps in a dig at Trump – and expressed concerns over his growing influence in government. “Today’s bill extends government funding through March 14, which will grant Congress the needed time to reach a final agreement on our FY 25 spending bills,” Congressman Tom Cole said on the House floor before the vote. “It will also give President-elect Trump an opportunity to participate in the process. Governing by continuing resolution, Mr. Speaker, is never ideal. But Congress has a responsibility to keep the government open and operating for the American people.”A government shutdown, he added, “would be devastating to our national defense” and a “grave mistake.”The vote follows a frantic few days on Capitol Hill, after two budget proposals were killed and Speaker Johnson scrambled to reach a “Plan C” agreement ahead of the midnight deadline. More chaos unfolded Thursday after 38 Republicans voted against a budget proposal that was backed by Trump and Mr. Johnson.After hours of uncertainty on Friday about the plan moving forward, Mr. Johnson told reporters in the early afternoon that he expected there would not be a government shutdown and that “we will meet our obligations for our farmers who need aid, for the disaster victims all over the country, and for making sure that military and essential services and everyone who relies on upon the federal government for a paycheck is paid over the holidays.” Trump described the budget disaster as a “Biden problem” earlier on Friday.“If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now, under the Biden Administration, not after January 20th, under ‘TRUMP,’” the president-elect wrote on Truth Social early Friday morning. “This is a Biden problem to solve, but if Republicans can help solve it, they will!” Mr. Biden has not had a visible role in the process. Trump had not reacted to the vote at the time of publication.

House Votes To Avert Government Shutdown With Just Hours To Spare

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