House Speaker Mike Johnson arrived at the US Capitol this morning accompanied by a gaggle of reporters, all wanting to know what he plans to do today.

Answering reporter's questions, Johnson said: "We're expecting votes this morning, so y'all stay tuned, we've got a plan."

In the last few minutes, President-elect Donald Trump has taken to his social media platform Truth Social, saying "if there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now, under the Biden Administration, not after January 20th, under 'TRUMP'".

"This is a Biden problem to solve, but if Republicans can help solve it, they will!"

Cai Pigliucci
Reporting from Capitol Hill

They had a deal, then suddenly they didn't have a deal - largely for two simple reasons: Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump.

House Speaker Mike Johnson had struck a bipartisan deal with Democrats on Tuesday that included disaster relief aid and health care policy extenders and other reforms.

But by Wednesday, Musk had cast doubts on the bill's chances when he posted on X that "this bill should not pass". The tech billionaire has become a close adviser to Trump, and he is set to lead "Doge" - or the Department of Government Efficiency, which may become an advisory board aimed at slashing government spending.

Trump followed Musk by demanding that the deal be scrapped and threatening the political careers of those who chose to back it. He also pressured Republicans to hammer out an agreement that would continue the suspension of the debt ceiling, which was set to expire in January.

Johnson worked quickly to get a new deal together, in hopes of appeasing both his party and its leader, Donald Trump, with his political future likely depending on it. But 38 Republicans voted it down on the floor last night - another headache for the speaker. Now he has until midnight to scrape something together.

He hopes to retain the Speaker's gavel in the new Congress when it holds leadership elections in January. If Trump turns on Johnson, his reign may quickly come to an end.

That would plunge Congress once again into the chaos of rolling leadership elections, with Trump's inauguration just weeks away.

The last time there was a government shutdown was in 2019 during Donald Trump's first term as president. It was the longest in US history, clocking in at 35 days long, and towards the end its impact was hard to ignore.

Flights were grounded after staff failed to report for duty at airports, following weeks of working without pay, while the director of the FBI warned its resources were at "breaking point".

Businesses were stuck in limbo as government cutbacks halted the issuing of a variety of permits and approvals, as well as listings on the stock exchange.

The shutdown centred on Trump's insistence that at least $5bn (£4bn) in funding be included for his long-promised wall along the Mexican border.

He eventually yielded to political pressure and backed a deal that would fund federal agencies for three weeks, but didn't include any funding for the border wall.

Image source, Getty Images

Many federal agencies rely on funding from the government that is approved by lawmakers in Congress - but if a spending bill is not agreed upon, they do not get that money.

Some essential services - like border protection, in-hospital medical care, law enforcement and air-traffic control - continue to operate, but any deemed non-essential are temporarily discontinued, as they do not have the money to pay for them.

Over a million federal employees are put on temporary unpaid leave, while active-duty members of the military and air traffic controllers continue to work - but without being paid.

All of that means things such as food assistance programmes, federally-funded preschools and food inspections can't be implemented - and National Parks will be closed.

There are also warnings this year that it could cause a headache for those trying to travel over the Christmas holidays, with the potential for long lines at border crossings and airports.

The US government is less than 24 hours from shutting down. It comes after a week of tense negotiations in Congress which have so far failed to produce a deal. Here's how it's played out.

• On Tuesday, a funding bill which would have kept the federal government operating beyond Friday failed to win enough votes to pass
• While it had been endorsed by Republican leadership in the House, it was strongly criticised by Donald Trump, JD Vance and Elon Musk - who, remember, have been tasked with identifying spending cuts once the new administration is in place
• The bill was revised and this time won backing from Trump - but it was voted down by the vast majority of Democrats and 38 Republicans on Thursday

• Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has promised to bring forward a new funding bill by the end of today
• Government funding lapses at midnight tonight, which means agencies will cease to operate unless a deal can be struck
• A government shutdown would see non-essential functions halted and could mean many federal employees go without pay

So, what does all this talk about a potential government shutdown mean? And how serious could it be?

In the latest episode of Americast, the BBC's Justin Webb, Anthony Zurcher and Marianna Springer analyse what the latest rejection of a US spending bill means.

You can listen here on BBC Sounds.

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

Image source, Reuters

A funny thing happened on the way to a bipartisan agreement to fund US government operations and avoid a partial shutdown this week.

Conservatives in Congress – encouraged by tech multi-billionaire Elon Musk – balked.

Republicans tried to regroup on Thursday afternoon, offering a new, slimmed-down package to fund the government. That vote failed, as 38 Republicans joined most Democrats in voting no.

All this political drama provides just a taste of the chaos and unpredictability that could be in store under unified Republican rule in Washington next year.

The man at the centre of this week's drama holds no official government title or role.

What Elon Musk does have, however, is hundreds of billions of dollars, a social media megaphone and the ear not just of the president of the United States but also rank-and-file conservatives in Congress.

• Read on here

Image source, Reuters

It's not clear what House Republicans will do next, after their spending bill failed yesterday to reach the two-thirds majority required to pass.

Last night House Speaker Mike Johnson said "we will regroup and come up with another solution", while Democratic Whip Katherine Clark said voting could also take place on Friday.

But time is of the essence, and these negotiations usually take weeks.

And Johnson desperately needs to find a way to win over Democrats - almost every Democratic member of the House voted against the bill - especially when pent-up anger from within his own caucus is set to boil over.

Without a deal, starting just after midnight on Friday, US government offices will begin closing down.

• Here's more on what a government shutdown might look like

US lawmakers will shortly return to the House after they failed to pass a reworked plan to avoid a government shutdown this weekend.

A replacement spending bill - backed by President-elect Donald Trump - fell short of the two-thirds threshold needed for passage.

Trump had thwarted a previous cross-party funding deal that the Republican House leadership had struck with Democrats, after heavy criticism of the measure by tech billionaire Elon Musk.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would come up with another solution before government funding lapses at midnight on Friday.

With less than 24 hours to go, it's not yet clear how that will look.

Stick with us as we bring you the latest updates.

Brandon Livesay
Reporting from New York

President-elect Donald Trump called on his Republican party to back a new spending bill that would avert a government shutdown.

But 38 Republicans in the House of Representatives, along with nearly the entire Democratic Party contingent, voted against it.

It leaves the government in limbo with only one more full day to hash out a new bill. If they don't, a government shutdown would start the weekend before Christmas.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, the chamber's top Republican, has a long night ahead of him - he needs to come up with a Plan C after both Plan A and Plan B failed.

With no resolution in sight tonight, we're pausing our live coverage.

We'll be back again if the House comes to a compromise and tries once more to pass a bill - potentially tomorrow.

In the meantime, you can read the latest analysis from my colleague Anthony Zurcher here:

• Musk flexes influence over Congress in shutdown drama

It's been a chaotic and busy night in Washington DC, here's what happened:

• A deal to keep government services from shutting down failed to pass in the US House of Representatives
• The latest deal failed with 174 in support and 235 against, with the help of 38 nay votes by Republican lawmakers
• The bill was the second Republican proposal, after Donald Trump and Elon Musk called for the first bill to be scrapped on Wednesday

• It casts doubts on Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson's position - he has been attacked by members of his own party for endorsing both failed spending packages
• There is now major uncertainty, with less than 48 hours until the deadline to avert a government shutdown
• With no deal, government services ranging from the Border Patrol to the National Park Service will shut down

Image source, Getty Images

A federal government shut down has the potential to create a major headache ahead of Christmas and new year's vacations for millions of Americans.

If there is no resolution before Saturday, officials have warned of long lines at border crossings and airports. Federally-managed scenic destinations like America's iconic national parks will be closed.

TSA, which provides security to American airports, will furlough some workers, as will the FAA that operates air traffic control.

During the 35-day shut down in 2018-2019, airports were forced to slow operations because of a lack of staff.

On top of that, two million federal workers - including airport workers - would not receive paycheques during the holiday season if a government shutdown went ahead

We've just heard from House Speaker Mike Johnson, who said "we will regroup and we will come up with another solution. So stay tuned".

Vice-president-elect JD Vance has accused Democrats of trying to shut down the government

"They would rather shut down the government, and fight for global censorship," he said, using an expletive.

Elon Musk has also been tweeting about the failed vote. In the last hour, he posted that "responsibility for the shutdown rests squarely on the shoulders" of House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Before voting started, President-elect Donald Trump had called on his party to back the proposal. The final vote tally included 38 Republicans who voted against their own party's bill. Two Democrats voted for the bill, with the remainder voting against it.

Democratic Whip Katherine Clark has just advised members that no more votes are expected in the House tonight.

Clark said voting is possible tomorrow, and a schedule would be announced when it was available.

Jake Horton & Mike Wendling
BBC Verify

Image source, Reuters

Elon Musk went on a tear on Wednesday, tweeting dozens of times about the earlier – now scuppered – proposed spending bill.

The Tesla and SpaceX boss is a fierce critic of US government spending, and Donald Trump has put him in charge of a unit designed to cut waste.

But in his flurry of messages about the bill, he got some basic facts wrong.

Musk claimed that the bill meant members of Congress would get a 40% pay rise. The real figure was 3.8%. Members of Congress get a salary of $174,000 per year.

Musk shared a screenshot of one section of the proposal with the claim: “We’re funding bioweapon labs in this bill!”

That was an erroneous reference to funding for biomedical research facilities – not bioweapons facilities, which are banned under an international treaty.

Musk also shot out messages claiming the bill contained billions to fund a new sports stadium and military aid to Ukraine.

Neither spending proposal was in the bill, although it did contain a measure that would transfer a parcel of land to the city of Washington DC, which might theoretically eventually result in a new home for the Washington Commanders NFL team.

​​The US could face a government shutdown in less than 48 hours, and Elon Musk is pushing for it.​​

President-elect Donald Trump followed his calls to reject a bill that would have kept the government funded through March.

​​Without it, some public services could be put of hold.

So what’s it all about and how serious would it be?

Listen here: Why has Elon Musk been pushing for a government shutdown?

Two separate spending bills that would fund the US federal government have fallen apart in less than 24 hours, and the clock is ticking for a deal to happen before the US government shuts down.

Starting just after midnight on Friday, US government offices will begin closing down unless an agreement is struck between Republicans and Democrats in Congress.

That leaves less than two days.

The latest drama of this failed vote came after Elon Musk and Donald Trump denounced a bipartisan bill negotiated and endorsed by Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.

Catch up on how we got here by reading this analysis from the BBC's Anthony Zurcher: Musk flexes influence over Congress in shutdown drama

Earlier, before the vote, Connecticut Democrat Rosa DeLauro slammed Elon Musk for lobbying against the bill. She calls him "president Musk", leading to laughter from Democrats on the House floor.

"President Musk said 'don't do it, shut the government down'," she taunts.

"Imagine. What does he know about what people go through when the government shuts down?" asks DeLauro, the top Democratic funding appropriator in the House.

"Are his employees furloughed? Hell no. Is he furloughed? No."

"And when you shut the government down, people don't get paid," she says, suggesting that Musk and Trump would prefer that American workers don't get paid.

Failed vote shows limits to Trump's power over Congresspublished at 00:13 Greenwich Mean Time 20 December 2024

00:13 GMT 20 December 2024

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

It was the first big test of president-elect Donald Trump’s influence over congressional Republican. He said jump, and a sizable number of them said “no”.

This vote on government-funding legislation, which had been enthusiastically backed by Trump, was destined to fail, as it required a two-thirds majority to pass. But 38 Republicans broke ranks and voted against the bill.

That does not bode well for a later vote, if it happens, which would only require a simple majority. With most Democrats opposing the legislation, the funding bill failed to even reach that mark.

Republican leaders – including Trump - are going to have to engage in some serious arm-twisting now to convince nearly all the defecting members of their party to return to the fold. They may have to come up with new legislation that can win them over, perhaps without a debt-limit extension that is reviled by some conservatives.

However this ends, it underscores just how tenuous the Republican majority in the House is – and the limits to Donald Trump’s power. He and Elon Musk can kill legislation, but they can’t necessarily rally the support to get their proposals over the finish line.