A spending bill offered by Republicans and supported by President-elect Donald Trump failed during a vote Thursday afternoon in the House of Representatives. The development leaves Congress without a clear plan to avoid a government shutdown as funding deadlines expire at midnight on Friday.
174 lawmakers voted in favor of the bill and 235 voted against it, overturning a plan hastily drafted by Republican leaders after President-elect Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk scrapped an earlier bipartisan deal.
Despite Mr. Trump's support for the Republican bill, 38 Republicans voted against it, including all but three Democrats, A2 reports.
Conservative Republicans who voted against said it did not foresee a significant reduction in government spending.
Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the bill "ridiculous."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, said Thursday night that: " The failure of the bill in the House of Representatives is a good thing. Now is the time to get back to the bipartisan agreement we reached ."
Government funding ends at midnight on Friday. If lawmakers fail to extend the deadline, the government will begin a partial shutdown, cutting off funding for everything from border security agencies to national parks, and putting more than 2 million federal workers at risk. are paid. The Transportation Security Administration warned that travelers during the busy holiday season could face long lines at airports.
The bill offered by Republicans was largely similar to an earlier version that Mr. Musk and Mr. Trump had described as a gift to Democrats.
According to him, government funding would have been extended until March. By then Mr. Trump will be in the White House and Republicans will control both houses of Congress.
President-elect Donald Trump called the creation of a new plan to finance the government, which included lifting the debt ceiling, a "success".
Mr Trump's social media post came as Republicans said they had reached a deal after difficult closed-door talks. Republicans said the bill would keep the government operating for three more months, increase disaster relief for hurricane-hit states and others, and allow the government to borrow more through Jan. 30. of the year 2027.
" Success in Washington! Speaker Mike Johnson and the House of Representatives have reached a very good agreement ," wrote Mr. Trump before the bill was defeated in Congress.
Before the vote, Democrats and Republicans accused each other of being responsible if the government were to shut down.
House Republican Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters the package would avoid the problem, making it easier for lawmakers to cut hundreds of billions of dollars in spending when Mr. Trump takes office next year.
" The government is very big, it does a lot of things and few of them are done well ," he said./Voice of America (A2 Televizion)
A2 CNN Livestream
MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
