A brief government shutdown was initiated before Christmas while the Senate worked to advance the House bill

A brief government shutdown was initiated before Christmas while the Senate worked to advance the House bill

A partial government shutdown began at 12:01 a.m. Saturday morning after Congress failed to pass a stopgap spending measure and send it to President Biden’s desk before the deadline.

However, the Senate is actively working through amendment votes and other considerations to send the measure to Biden. The emergency solution bill is expected to be passed in the Senate in the coming hours.

The partial closure comes just days before Christmas and New Year.

From Thursday it is US national debt was $36,167,604,149,955.61 and continued to rise rapidly.

Photo of Capitol Hill.

A partial government shutdown began at 12:01 a.m. Saturday morning after Congress failed to pass a stopgap spending solution before the deadline. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

During a partial government shutdown, federal agencies and non-essential services will be suspended, but some functions considered “essential” will continue. Certain national security functions such as border protection, law enforcement and disaster relief will remain active during the shutdown.

However, with the Senate expected to advance the bill shortly, disruption to government operations will be minimal, if at all, felt.

An initial agreement on a short-term spending bill was released earlier this week, totaling 1,547 pages and containing a number of policy provisions and disaster relief.

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Donald Trump talks to Elon Musk

Musk’s public criticism of the bill preceded Trump’s statement. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

But shortly after its release, billionaire Elon Musk and other conservative critics publicly criticized the measure, ultimately leading to its condemnation by President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance.

The first spending measure would have extended federal funding for fiscal year 2024 through March 14 and provided more than $100 billion in disaster relief to people affected by storms Helene and Milton in the southeastern U.S. earlier this year. The bill also included a $10 billion provision for economic aid for farmers.

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The bill’s size, along with several of its other provisions, including a cost-of-living increase for lawmakers, sparked public backlash from Musk and others.

Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, co-chair of the newly announced Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), arrives with his son on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on December 5, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

After going back to the drawing board, House Republicans advanced a new proposal Thursday. The revised measure would have extended current funding levels by three months and included a suspension of the debt ceiling for two years, according to Trump’s request.

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There was also economic relief for farmers and about $110 billion in disaster relief.

But the bill failed in the House on Thursday night, with Democrats united against it and a significant group of Republicans also choosing to oppose it.

On Friday morning, there appeared to be no agreement between Democrats and Republicans in Congress to work together on a new bill. In fact, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., said the government would be partially shut down at midnight if Republicans did not return to the original stopgap bill .

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Rep. Chip Roy

Representative Chip Roy speaks to the media after the House of Representatives failed to pass a government funding bill at the U.S. Capitol on December 19, 2024 in Washington, DC (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“I am prepared to stay here until Christmas because we will not let Elon Musk run the government,” Murray said in a statement.

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The House of Representatives managed to pass a third version of the spending bill on Friday. It was similar to the second version and included both economic relief for farmers and disaster relief, but did not include the suspension of the debt ceiling that Trump had so adamantly insisted on.

The bill received broad bipartisan support in the House of Representatives and a green light from Biden as the White House said he would support it. Even Schumer released a statement after the House passed it saying he was “confident” it would pass the Senate.

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