Last-minute budget bill to prevent US government shutdown prevails in House | Government News

A Last minute budget bill The US House of Representatives agreed to keep the federal government funded and running until mid-March, to avoid an imminent shutdown.

The continuing resolution is now being submitted to the Senate just hours before the lockdown takes effect on Saturday at 12:01 am local time (05:01 GMT).

On Friday evening, the temporary budget legislation passed through the House by an overwhelming majority of 366 votes.

Only 34 representatives, all Republicans, voted against the bill. One Democrat, Representative Jasmine Crockett of Texas, abstained from voting “present.”

“We are truly grateful that tonight, in a bipartisan manner and by an overwhelming majority of votes, we passed the American Relief Act of 2025,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a news conference after the vote.

But the temporary draft law overlooked one major issue that stalled recent negotiations: the debt ceiling.

Typically, Congress weighs federal spending separately from the debt ceiling, which limits the amount the government can borrow.

But this week, President-elect Donald Trump invalidated an earlier, bipartisan bill, in part because it did not extend or eliminate the debt ceiling, which he likened to a “guillotine” hanging over his incoming administration.

The debt ceiling has become a divisive issue among Republicans, some of whom fear that extending or eliminating it would pave the way for unrestrained government spending.

For his part, Trump said: He threatened To lay down primary challenges for any Republican who opposes his plan. He indicated that he would prefer to hold the debt ceiling discussion under the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden, a Democrat and his former election rival.

“Unless Democrats end or significantly extend the debt ceiling now, I will fight to the end,” Trump said in a speech. Social media sharing Wednesday. “This is a nasty trap set by radical left Democrats! “They’re looking to embarrass us in June when it’s time to vote.”

Trump’s opposition to Bipartisan legislation is out this week It put him at odds with Johnson, another major Republican leader. Johnson’s predecessor for speaker was Republican Kevin McCarthy He was ousted last year In a historic vote on his role in passing the bipartisan spending bill.

After defeating the first bipartisan bill on Wednesday, Trump endorsed it Another version Which failed in the House of Representatives the next day, on Thursday. All Democrats, plus 38 Republicans, opposed it.

The bill introduced on Friday succeeded in regaining Democratic support after closed negotiations. In his remarks after the vote, Johnson tried to portray the latest spending deal as a win for Trump’s “America First” economic program.

“This is America First legislation, because it allows us to be ready to serve the American people,” Johnson said.

He also hinted at changes coming in January, when a new Congress is sworn in and Donald Trump takes office for a second term. When that happens, Republicans will have a majority in both chambers of Congress.

“In January, we will make a radical change in Washington,” Johnson said. “Things are going to be very different here. This was a necessary step to bridge the gap, and put us in that moment where we can put our mark on 2025 spending.”

Like previous bills, the temporary measure passed Friday includes nearly $10 billion in farm aid and $100 billion in humanitarian disaster aid, a priority after the devastation of hurricanes like Helen and Milton.

But the saber rattling that accompanied an earlier version of the bill had largely subsided by Friday night, as Trump allies like billionaire Elon Musk struck a conciliatory note.

Musk, who criticized Wednesday’s version of the bill as “criminal,” praised House Speaker Johnson after voting Friday evening to simplify the legislation.

“The Speaker has done a good job here, given the circumstances,” he added. books On his social media platform X. “I went from a pound note to an ounce note.”

Meanwhile, Democrats have questioned Musk’s growing influence over the Republican Party. Musk is set to advise the incoming Trump administration in a new role, as part of a yet-to-be-created non-government agency known as the Department of Government Efficiency.

“Clearly the thing that Donald Trump wanted, he didn’t get,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Florida told reporters as he walked down the Capitol steps. “It looks like Elon got some things he wanted. So that’s interesting.”

Moskowitz credited Democrats with giving Republicans the majority needed to pass the bill in the House of Representatives, despite internal opposition within the right-leaning party.

“The drama that happened here over the past two days did not need to happen,” he said. “And we literally ended up in the same place we were always going to end up, which was Democrats who provided the majority of the votes to keep the government open and deliver for the American people.”