The Republican-led US House of Representatives has failed to approve a one-month stopgap funding bill, as a federal government shutdown after Saturday midnight appears increasingly inevitable.
As expected among the circles in Capitol Hill, the Republican-led US House of Representatives faced a major setback as they failed to approve a crucial one-month stopgap funding bill late Friday night.
The failure to pass this bill has cast a shadow of uncertainty over the federal government, with a shutdown looming on the horizon, set to take effect after midnight on Saturday.
The vote on the stopgap funding bill, which sought to keep the government funded temporarily, resulted in a significant defeat for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. McCarthy had been grappling to gather enough support within the slim Republican majority, and his inability to rally his party behind the funding plan became evident as all Democrats and 21 Republicans voted against the measure, resulting in a 232-198 vote count.
Earlier on Friday, amidst opposition from both Democrats and some hardline Republicans, the lower chamber managed to clear a key procedural hurdle for the measure with a vote of 218-210.
However, even if the bill had received approval from House Republicans, it faced an uncertain fate in the Democratic-controlled Senate. The bill included provisions for deep spending cuts and border security measures, both of which were staunchly opposed by Democrats.
Traditionally, the House takes the lead on spending and revenue bills, but internal strife within the Republican Party had left the lower chamber paralyzed, necessitating action from the Senate in the final week before a potential shutdown.
In response to the deadlock in the House, a bipartisan Senate-proposed bill had been introduced earlier in the week, aiming to fund the government until November 17, just before Thanksgiving.
