The US House passes a bill to avoid a government shutdown, sending it to the Senate for approval

The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives passed legislation on Friday to prevent a midnight government shutdown, defying President-elect Donald Trump’s request to re-issue trillions of dollars in new debt.

Next, the Democratic-controlled Senate must pass a bill to ensure that the US government will be funded at midnight, when current funding expires. If approved by the Senate, President Joe Biden intends to sign it into law, the White House said.

The legislation would extend federal funding through March 14, providing $100 billion to disaster-stricken states and $10 billion to farmers. However, it would not raise the debt ceiling – a tough task Trump pushed Congress to do before he took office on January 20.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Republicans will have more power to influence government spending next year, when they will have majorities in both chambers of Congress and Trump will be in the White House.

“This was a necessary step to close the gap, it puts us in that moment where we can put our fingers on the final spending decisions,” he told reporters after the vote. He said Trump supports the package.

A government shutdown would disrupt everything from law enforcement to national parks and freeze paychecks for millions of government workers. A travel industry trade group has warned that the shutdown could cost airlines, hotels and other companies $1 billion a week and cause widespread disruption during the busy Christmas season. Authorities warned that travelers could face long lines at airports.

The package, passed by a bipartisan vote of 366-34, is similar to a bipartisan plan that was abandoned earlier this week after an online dispute from Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk, who said it contained too many unrelated provisions, such as the salary. raising lawmakers and banning pharmacy benefit managers.

Republicans struck most of those items in the bill — including a provision limiting investment in China that Democrats said would conflict with Musk’s interests.

“He obviously doesn’t want to answer questions about how much he plans to expand his business in China and how much American technology he plans to sell,” Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro said on the House floor.

Musk is happy with the deal

Trump has appointed Musk, the world’s richest man, to lead a budget-cutting team but Musk has no official position in Washington.

Musk wrote on his social media platform X that he was happy with the package. “It went from a building weighing pounds to a building weighing ounces,” he wrote.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the package still accomplishes important goals, such as providing disaster relief, avoiding a shutdown and preventing Republicans from passing debt-raising legislation that would facilitate tax cuts.

“We have successfully improved the daily needs of the American people, but there is still work to be done and we look forward to that battle in the new year,” he told reporters.

Trump’s demand to increase the debt ceiling was surprisingly rejected by the House – which includes 38 Republicans – on Thursday.

The federal government spent about $6.2 trillion US last year and has more than $36 trillion in debt, and Congress will need to act to authorize more borrowing by the middle of next year.

Rep. Rich McCormick, one of the 34 Republicans who voted against the bill, said it did nothing to change the state’s finances and would only add to the debt burden. “We will be an old country if we continue to do what we are doing,” he said.

The federal government ended a 35-day shutdown during Trump’s first term because of a dispute over border security.

Previous disputes over the debt ceiling have damaged financial markets, as a default by the US government could send a debt shock around the world. The limit is set under an agreement that technically expires on Jan. 1, although lawmakers likely wouldn’t have to deal with the issue before spring.