Brief government shutdown ushered in before Christmas as Senate works to advance House bill

December 21, 2024:

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

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

The partial shutdown comes only days before Christmas and New Year’s.

As of Thursday, the U.S. national debt was at $36,167,604,149,955.61 and was continuing to climb rapidly.

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

During a partial government shutdown, federal agencies and non-essential services are stopped, but some functions that are considered “essential” will continue. Certain national security functions, such as border patrol, law enforcement and disaster response, will remain active during the shutdown.

However, because the Senate is expected to move the bill forward imminently, the disruption to government function will be minimal, if at all noticeable.

An original agreement on a short-term spending bill was released earlier in the week, totaling 1,547-pages and including a number of policy provisions and disaster aid.

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

But soon after its release, billionaire Elon Musk and other conservative critics publicly blasted the measure, ultimately resulting in it being condemned by President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance.

The initial spending measure would have extended government funding levels for fiscal year 2024 through March 14 and provide over $100 billion in disaster aid for those affected by storms Helene and Milton in the U.S. Southeast earlier this year. There was also a $10 billion provision for economic assistance to farmers in the bill.

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The size of the bill, along with several of its other provisions, including a cost of living raise for lawmakers, prompted the public reaction from Musk and others.

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

After heading back to the drawing board, House Republicans emerged on Thursday with a new proposal. The revised measure would have extended current funding levels for three months and included a debt limit suspension for two years, per the request of Trump.

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Additionally, it had economic relief for farmers and about $110 billion in disaster aid.

But the bill failed on the House floor Thursday night as Democrats united against it and a significant group of Republicans opted to oppose it as well.

By 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 Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., said the government would go into a partial shutdown at midnight if Republicans did not return to the original stopgap bill.

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

“I’m ready to stay here through Christmas because we’re not going to let Elon Musk run the government,” Murray said in a statement.

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The House managed to pass a third version of the spending bill on Friday. It was similar to the second version, including both economic relief for farmers and disaster aid, but did not have the debt ceiling suspension that Trump had been adamant about.

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

Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.

Follow Julia’s reporting on X at @JuliaaJohnson_ and send tips to Julia.Johnson@fox.com.

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