US House passes new bill to fund government, with shutdown just hours away

Republican leaders in the US House of Representatives scheduled a vote on Friday to keep the federal government operating beyond a midnight deadline and avert a partial shutdown that could disrupt the Christmas holiday.

“We will not have a government shutdown,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters.

Congress is struggling to perform one of its most basic duties, providing funding for the government, and it was not immediately clear if the new proposal would draw the support of Democrats, whose cooperation will be needed.

Republicans scheduled a House vote for less than seven hours before current funding was due to expire at midnight. The package would also need to be passed by the Democratic-majority Senate and signed into law by US President Biden before then to avoid disruption.

The legislation would extend government funding until March 14 and provide aid for farmers and disaster-hit states. Lawmakers said they would not vote to raise the debt ceiling, as US president-elect Donald Trump has demanded.

If Congress does not act by midnight, funding for everything from law enforcement to national parks will be disrupted and millions of federal workers will go unpaid.