A bill to avert a government shutdown failed on the House floor Thursday night, after Democrats and conservatives rebelled against Speaker Mike Johnson’s new Donald Trump-backed spending plan.
The measure went down decisively, 174-235, failing to meet a two-thirds bar for passage under a fast-track procedure.
With government funding set to expire at midnight Friday, Elon Musk and Trump lured Congress into a power struggle, demanding that Johnson abandon the bipartisan accord he struck with top Democrats this week and instead craft a bill favored by Republicans. By defeating that Trump-backed alternative, Democrats demonstrated that they won’t help him pass bills if they don’t have a seat at the negotiating table.