US government shutdown looms after House rejects Trump-backed spending deal
US politicians have rejected a spending bill endorsed by president-elect Donald Trump – leaving Congress with no clear plan to avert a fast-approaching government shutdown.
On Wednesday, Mr Trump dismissed a bipartisan compromise, which Republicans and Democrats had reached to prevent a shutdown just days before the Christmas winter break.
Instead, he urged Republicans in the House of Representatives to back a new deal which included a three-month extension of government funding and a two-year suspension of the debt limit into January 2027. The debt ceiling caps the amount the federal government can borrow.
Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader and top Democrat in the chamber, called the revamped Republican proposal “laughable” – and the bill was rejected on Thursday night by a 175-235 vote, with all but two Democrats and 38 Republicans voting against it.
Several Republicans had said they were not interested in getting rid of the debt ceiling if they did not also cut spending.
“It’s like… increasing your credit card limit, while you don’t do anything to actually constrain spending,” said Republican Representative Chip Roy.
The outcome is a massive setback for Mr Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk, who has been tasked by the incoming president with pruning the federal budget.
Musk, a tech entrepreneur and the world’s richest person, led the charge earlier in the week against the bipartisan funding deal in dozens of posts on his social media platform X, describing it as “criminal”. His opposition led support for the package to quickly crumble.
Congress now has until midnight on Friday to approve a spending bill that would avert a government shutdown.
The threat of a government shutdown has sent House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson and the rest of his leadership team back to the drawing board. Pic: Reuters
“We’re going to regroup and we will come up with another solution, so stay tuned,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said after the vote.
But Mr Trump remained defiant, insisting Congress scrap the debt ceiling, or extend it to 2029.
“Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous debt ceiling. Without this, we should never make a deal,” he said in a post on Truth Social on Friday morning.
He has repeatedly urged Republicans in the House to tie up loose ends before he takes office on 20 January.
It leaves the government in limbo with just hours to thrash out a new bill to put to a vote.
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What a government shutdown means
If the House fails to approve a spending bill or extend the deadline a government shutdown will begin impacting federal employees and the public services they provide.
Essential government agencies like the FBI, Border Patrol and the Coast Guard would remain open.
But the Transportation Security Administration has warned travellers could face long lines at airports.
National parks and monuments would close, and while troops would stay at their posts, many civilian employees in agencies like the Department of Defence would be sent home.
Sometimes federal workers are furloughed, meaning they keep their jobs but temporarily don’t work until the government reopens.
Other federal staff may stay on the job but without pay, with the expectation they would be paid back in full once the government reopens.
Courts would also be affected, with civil proceedings paused, while criminal prosecutions continue.
Automated tax collection would stay on track, but the Internal Revenue Service would stop auditing tax returns.
The last government shutdown – the longest in history – took place in December 2018 and January 2019 during Mr Trump’s first term in The White House.
Former US president Joe Biden has prostate cancer, his office has said.
The statement said Mr Biden, who left the White House in January, is reviewing options for treatment with his physicians.
It read: “Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms.
“On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.
“The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
File pic: Reuters
According to Cancer Research UK, a Gleason score of 9 means the cancerous cells “look very abnormal” and the disease is “likely to grow quickly”.
A source familiar with Mr Biden and his family’s thinking has told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that the former president is considering “multiple treatment options” – including hormone treatment for the cancer.
They added he is at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and that as of now, it is unclear where the former president will be treated.
Mr Biden, 82, was the oldest person to ever serve as president, with concerns about his health raised regularly during his campaign for re-election last year.
After a poor debate against Donald Trump in June, he withdrew from the 2024 election and endorsed his vice president Kamala Harris.
In February 2023, he had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer.
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A Mexican navy ship has hit the Brooklyn Bridge during a promotional tour in New York City.
The New York Fire Department said authorities were responding to injuries but had no details about how many people might have been hurt or whether they were on the vessel or on the bridge.
Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports that at least three people were seriously injured in the incident.
The Mexican navy said in a post on X that the Cuauhtemoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in the accident, which has prevented it from continuing its voyage.
Eyewitness video of the collision posted online showed the mast of the ship, which was flying a large Mexican flag, scraping the underneath of the bridge.
Pic: AP
The vessel then drifted toward the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from shore.
The Mexican navy said the status of personnel and material was under review by naval and local authorities, which were providing assistance.
The Cuauhtemoc is about 297ft long and 40ft wide, according to the Mexican navy. It sailed for the first time in 1982.
Pic: AP
Each year, it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training.
It left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on 6 April with 277 people onboard, the navy said at the time.
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One person has died in a bomb explosion near a reproductive health clinic in California, authorities have said.
The incident took place in Palm Springs, a city two hours east of Los Angeles, and is being investigated as a possible car explosion.
The city’s mayor Ron DeHarte said one person died in the blast, adding that the bomb was “either in or near” a vehicle. The deceased’s identity is not known, Palm Springs police said.
Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers clinic, told the Associated Press his facility was damaged but all staff were safe and accounted for.
The explosion damaged the office space where the practice conducts patient consultations, but the IVF lab and stored embryos were unharmed, he added.
“I really have no clue what happened,” he said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”
Debris covers the ground after the explosion. Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
In a statement posted on Facebook the clinic said it was “heartbroken” to learn someone died in the explosion and added: “Our deepest condolences go out to the individuals and families affected.”
It continued: “Our mission has always been to help build families, and in times like these, we are reminded of just how fragile and precious life is.
“In the face of this tragedy, we remain committed to creating hope – because we believe that healing begins with community, compassion, and care.
The clinic will be fully operational on Monday, it added.
“This moment has shaken us – but it has not stopped us. We will continue to serve with strength, love, and the hope that brings new life into the world,” the statement concluded.
Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
The Palm Springs city government said in a post on Facebook that the explosion happened on North Indian Canyon Drive, near East Tachevah Drive, before 11am local time (6pm GMT).
A burned-out car can be seen in a parking lot behind the building in aerial footage.
The blast caved in the clinic’s roof and blew debris across four lanes of the road.
Another person said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.
Nima Tabrizi said: “The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke.”
Investigators from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are travelling to the scene to help assess what happened.
California governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his press office said.
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