Live

Government shutdown live updates: Biden to sign funding bill Saturday: White House

The Senate passed the stop-gap measure early on Saturday.

ByLauren Peller, John Parkinson, Ivan Pereira, Stacey Dec, Jack Moore, and David Brennan
Last Updated: December 21, 2024, 6:10 AM EST

With a government shutdown narrowly avoided late Friday into Saturday morning, the House and Senate sent a funding bill to President Joe Biden's desk.

An initial bipartisan deal was tanked earlier this week by President-elect Donald Trump and his ally, Elon Musk. Then on Thursday night, the House failed to pass a revamped plan that included Trump's explosive demand that the debt limit be extended.

Under the proposal, the 118-page bill contains most of the provisions that were put in place in the bipartisan bill that was agreed to on Wednesday. The bill includes $100 billion for disaster aid, $30 billion for farmers and a one-year extension of the farm bill, provisions that were under heavy debate prior to this week's votes.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing:
Dec 20, 2024, 12:20 PM EST

Johnson plans to propose individual votes on spending measures: Sources

House Republicans will meet behind closed doors at 12:30 p.m. ET to discuss a new plan to avert a government shutdown -- as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says the “lines of communication have been reopened” with Speaker Mike Johnson.

According to sources, Johnson plans to propose the House take several individual votes on pieces of the slimmed-down agreement that failed on the floor Thursday night, including a continuing resolution to fund the government through March 14, $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers and $100 billion in disaster relief.

Those are the core pillars of the bipartisan proposal that was tanked by Trump and Musk. It’s unclear whether Republicans will make another attempt to take up the debt limit -- Trump’s key demand -- in this latest round of votes.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to reporters outside of the House Chambers in the U.S. Capitol, on Dec. 19, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

-ABC News' John Parkinson, Lauren Peller, Ben Siegel, Jay O'Brien, Isabella Murray

Dec 20, 2024, 10:59 AM EST

Elon Musk weighs in on spending battle

The Tesla billionaire and X owner is weighing in again as lawmakers search for an eleventh-hour solution.

"Either the government should pass sensible bills that actually serve the people or shut it down!" Musk wrote on X.

Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk listens as US President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with House Republicans at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Washington, Nov. 13, 2024.
Allison Robbert/POOL via Reuters, FILES

His post came shortly after Trump also urged the shutdown to "begin now" under the Biden administration rather than during his presidency if lawmakers were unable to come to an agreement.

The funding fight has been a forum for Musk to exert his political influence. Musk has become a key member of President-elect Donald Trump's inner circle, and played a role in torpedoing an original government spending plan that had bipartisan support.

Dec 20, 2024, 10:58 AM EST

As Johnson scrambles for deal, Schumer calls for return to bipartisan plan

In floor remarks on Friday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer urged Republicans to return to the original bipartisan funding plan.

"If Republicans do not work with Democrats in a bipartisan way very soon the government will shut down at midnight. It is time to go back to the original agreement we had just a few days ago," Schumer said.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks to reporters following a closed-door strategy session, at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 17, 2024.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP

"It's the quickest, simplest, and easiest way we can make sure the government stays open while delivering critical emergency aid to the American people. If the House put our original agreement on the floor today it would pass and we could put the threat of a shutdown behind us," Schumer said.

The comments came as Speaker Mike Johnson huddled in his office with Vice President-elect JD Vance and other lawmakers to try to come up with a third funding option to vote on.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin

Dec 20, 2024, 9:42 AM EST

Top Democrat warns Senate may not accept House bill

Democrat Patty Murray, the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is making it clear that she's preparing for a fight on government funding.

"I'm ready to stay here through Christmas because we're not going to let Elon Musk run the government," Murray said.

Her statement signals that Senate Democrats may not be willing to roll over and accept whatever funding measure the House manages to pass.

A man walks toward the Capitol on a day where a potential government shutdown looms during the holidays after a spending bill backed by Donald Trump failed in the U.S. House of Representatives, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 20, 2024.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Senate Democrats, including Murray and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, are continuing to advocate for a return to the bipartisan deal that President-elect Donald Trump helped to kill earlier this week.

"The American people do not want chaos or a costly government shutdown all because an unelected billionaire wants to call the shots -- I am ready to work with Republicans and Democrats to pass the bipartisan deal both sides negotiated as soon as possible," Murray said.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin

Related Topics