House passes bill to fund US government in crucial step towards averting shutdown

  • The US House has passed a bill 366 to 34 to fund the government in a crucial step towards averting a shutdown, which would begin shortly after midnight

  • Senators will now have to vote on the bill before it can be signed by President Joe Biden but there appears to be some delays in the chamber

  • The proposal does not include a debt ceiling measure President-elect Donald Trump had called for

  • This is the third attempt this week to get a deal through the House after a Trump-backed funding measure failed on Thursday

  • And that proposal was created because Trump and billionaire Elon Musk pressured Republicans to reject the original deal

  • A shutdown could mean millions of government employees would not be paid over Christmas, and all non-essential, discretionary functions of the US government stop

House passes bill to fund US government in crucial step towards averting shutdown