United States is on the verge of a government shutdown, with a deadline at midnight Friday for lawmakers to pass a temporary funding bill to avoid a closure that could disrupt services throughout the holiday season. The crisis, triggered by late-stage interventions from former President Donald Trump and tech mogul Elon Musk, has caused significant turmoil in Congress, hindering efforts to pass the stopgap measure needed to extend federal operations.
A “continuing resolution” or CR, would keep government agencies funded through the New Year. However, conservative lawmakers in the House of Representatives objected to the package saying it was a bloated spending bill that included provisions unrelated to the bill’s primary goal of funding government operations.
Despite these complaints, it seemed that the CR had finally passed through until world’s richest man, Elon Musk, started posting critical comments on X concerning the bill. Musk posts, replete with misinformation, had been endorsed by Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance, who insisted the bill also raise the US debt limit, another contentious subject that has driven further fissures.
Without an agreement, shutdown would stop funding for lots of government services, air travel and law enforcement; delay paychecks for more than 2 million federal workers, but Social Security payments would keep coming.
With the deadline looming, House Republicans and Democrats are scurrying to find a way forward. The slimmer funding package is something the Republicans are considering, but support from Democrats is far from assured. The situation puts the spotlight on the issues the US government will have to contend with in dealing with divisions and private figures such as Musk influencing legislative process.
