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Government shutdown live updates: Focus turns to Senate after House OKs spending bill

The deal does not include a provision to raise the debt limit.

ByLauren Peller, John Parkinson, and Ivan Pereira
Last Updated: December 20, 2024, 5:46 PM EST

With a government shutdown narrowly avoided Friday night, the House passed a funding bill which is awaiting Senate approval and President Joe Biden's signature.

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 House 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:
3 hours and 30 minutes ago

Voting formally ends, Democrats vote yes

With an overwhelming bipartisan majority, Republicans and Democrats came together Friday evening to pass a short-term spending bill to keep the government open through March 14.

The final vote was 366-34-1, easily surpassing the two-thirds majority threshold needed for passage under suspension of the rules.

No Democrats voted against the measure, while 34 Republicans voted against it. One Democrat voted "present."

The bill now heads to the Senate with about six hours left before tonight’s deadline.

-ABC News' John Parkinson

3 hours and 33 minutes ago

Biden supports funding bill

President Joe Biden has thrown his support for the funding bill that is being voted on by the House, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

The president "supports moving this legislation forward and ensuring that the vital services the government provides for hardworking Americans -- from issuing Social Security checks to processing benefits for veterans -- can continue as well as to grant assistance for communities that were impacted by devastating hurricanes," she said in a statement.

Jean-Pierre added that while the bill "does not include everything we sought," it does keep the government running, get aid to those still recovering from disasters earlier this year and " eliminates the accelerated pathway to a tax cut for billionaires."

She slammed President-elect Donald Trump for causing the last-minute scramble.

"Following an order by President-elect Trump, yesterday Republicans walked away from a bipartisan deal and threatened to shut down the government at the 11th hour in order to pave the way to provide tax breaks for billionaires. This revised legislation does not do that," she said.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

3 hours and 41 minutes ago

House passes bill to avert government shutdown

The House of Representatives passed the two-thirds majority to pass the funding bill to avert a federal shutdown tonight. The bill, which funds the government until March, will head to the Senate.

3 hours and 43 minutes ago

Musk endorses funding deal

Billionaire Trump ally Elon Musk posted a statement on X that he supports the current funding deal that is being voted on.

"The Speaker did a good job here, given the circumstances. It went from a bill that weighed pounds to a bill that weighed ounces. Ball should now be in the Dem court," said Musk, who threatened GOP members two days ago.

-ABC News' Claire Brinberg

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