Uncertainty reigns on Capitol Hill with government shutdown deadline just hours away
NBC1 day
US Congress Passes Funding Bill to Avert Shutdown
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Above: Steam rises from the dome of the US Capitol on Dec. 20, 2024, in Washington, DC. Image copyright: Kent Nishimura/Stringer/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
Congress passed legislation early Saturday to fund the government through March 14, 2025. The House voted 366-34, and the Senate voted 85-11 to approve the measure.
House Speaker Mike Johnson's initial 1.5K-page bipartisan deal collapsed Wednesday after Pres.-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk publicly opposed it.
The Spin
Republican narrative
The stripped-down funding bill is a victory for fiscal responsibility as it removed unnecessary spending and policy riders, setting up Republicans to implement Trump's agenda with full control of government in 2025.
Democratic narrative
Republicans caved to pressure from unelected billionaires and abandoned a bipartisan deal that would have helped working Americans and protected future tax cuts for the wealthy by avoiding debt ceiling negotiations.
