5 things to know about a possible US government shutdown

The United States government is one day away from running out of money as Congress struggles to come up with a short-term funding plan.

On Thursday night, a revised spending plan that could have prevented a government shutdown failed to clear the House.

it It required a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives to pass and failed to reach that requirement. Thirty-eight Republicans broke ranks and voted against the bill.

President-elect Donald Trump had thwarted a previous deal struck with Democrats by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk heavily criticized the bipartisan deal after Trump condemned that temporary funding bill.

The replacement bill approved by Trump would have tied government funding to a two-year suspension of the federal debt ceiling, which determines how much the government can borrow to pay its bills.

Speaker Johnson now has to go back to the drawing board with just a few hours left on the clock.

Here are five things to know about a potential government shutdown:

Now a possible government shutdown could be traced back to September, when another budget deadline loomed.

Johnson failed to get the House to pass a six-month funding extension. Most Democrats voted against the expansion, which included a measure to require proof of citizenship for voting (the SAVE Act).

Instead, Congress struck a bipartisan compromise for a basic bill that would keep the government funded until December 20.

Johnson then promised his caucus that in December, when funding was set to expire, they would not have to vote on a bill that would spend everything but the kitchen-sink before the holiday recess.

But when congressional leaders released the text of the latest spending bill on Tuesday, three days before lawmakers left for recess, it totaled 1,547 pages.

The bill would extend government funding through March 14 — nearly three months after Trump returns to the White House.

This included more than $110 billion (£88 billion) in emergency disaster relief and $30 billion in aid to farmers; First pay rise for MPs since 2009; Federal funds to rebuild a collapsed bridge in Baltimore; health care reform; And, the provisions aim to prevent hotels and live event venues from misleading advertising.

Republicans criticized Johnson for abandoning the more basic spending bill, particularly condemning several left-leaning provisions that were negotiated to win support from Democrats.

Johnson defended the deal, blaming “acts of God” for the need for some additional provisions such as disaster aid and aid for farmers.

Still, opposition to Johnson’s spending deal grew on Wednesday.

Musk, whom Trump has tasked with identifying spending cuts by co-leading the Department of Government Efficiency (not an official government department), lobbied heavily against the current deal with dozens of posts on Twitter.

He called it “criminal” and frequently referenced false statements about the bill in his posts.

Musk wrote on Twitter that any legislator “who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be out in 2 years”.

After Musk opposed the spending bill, Trump and incoming Vice President J.D. Vance delivered the final blow to Johnson’s deal that evening.

They said in a joint statement that they wanted streamlined legislation without the Democratic-backed provisions that Johnson had included to ensure the bill would get enough votes to pass the House.

He also called on Congress to raise or eliminate the debt ceiling, which determines how much the government can borrow to pay its bills, and to limit funding legislation to temporary spending and disaster relief.

He called anything else a “betrayal of our country.”

Johnson and House Republicans introduced streamlined legislation, which failed Thursday night. It is not clear what they will do next.

During the vote, as it became clear the bill would fall short, Johnson acknowledged that the back-and-forth negotiations were difficult.

“It’s a long process,” he said. “Sometimes it takes a while to reach consensus.”

But Democrats are unlikely to help Johnson support the amended funding bill, and accuse him of breaking their bipartisan agreement.

“You break this bipartisan agreement, you are responsible for the consequences that follow,” Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries posted on X, which is owned by Musk.

And others appeared to taunt Republicans for taking their direction from the unelected Musk.

On the House floor Thursday, Connecticut Representative Rosa DeLauro referred to the billionaire as “President Musk,” to which fellow Democrats laughed.

“President Musk said ‘Don’t do it, shut down the government,'” she said.

Still, Johnson needs to find a way to win over Democrats to pass the spending bill, especially as pent-up anger within his own caucus is about to boil over.

Time is also very important. These negotiations usually take weeks.

Federal agencies rely on annual funding to function. When Congress fails to pass the 12 spending bills that make up the spending budget, these agencies must close non-essential functions.

Essential services – such as border security, hospital medical care, law enforcement and air traffic control – will remain operational.

However, many federal employees may remain without pay.

While Social Security and Medicare checks are sent, benefits verification and card issuance stops. Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is essential, but the closure could affect food stamp benefits. This could lead to delays in similar aid programs.

Other agencies cease operations entirely.

The Food and Drug Administration has halted food safety inspections, the Environmental Protection Agency has halted inspections and national parks are closing on visitors.

It was the first major test of Trump’s influence on current congressional Republicans, and many of them were not convinced by Thursday’s polling.

It also poses a challenge for Speaker Johnson, who is just 15 days away from the House voting to select its next speaker.

What once seemed like a secure position for Johnson now looks like a less certain thing.

Facing criticism from Trump and Mr Musk, the Louisiana Republican is now under scrutiny from people in his own party over his management of government funding.

Several Republicans have indicated they will not vote for Johnson to lead the chamber. He cannot afford to lose the support of many Republicans, given that the party only has a slim majority of five seats.

The threat to Johnson is grave given Republicans’ recent history.

In January 2023, Republican Kevin McCarthy of California had to go through 15 rounds of ballots before winning the speakership.

Only 10 months later, he was ousted by Republicans, who blamed him for failing to cut spending and working with Democrats to prevent a government shutdown.