The US House of Representatives has voted against a Donald Trump-backed funding measure, bringing a government shutdown this weekend a step closer, reports the BBC.
According to the report, a revised spending plan failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed in the lower chamber of Congress. On Thursday night, 38 Republicans voted against the bill, defying the president-elect.
Trump had thwarted a previous cross-party funding deal that the Republican House leadership had struck with Democrats after tech billionaire Elon Musk had heavily criticized the measure.
The report further states that after the bill failed by 174 votes to 235, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would come up with another solution before government funding lapses at midnight on Friday.
The Trump-approved replacement bill would have tied government funding to a two-year suspension of the federal debt limit, determining how much the government can borrow to pay its bills.
Republican rebels objected because they oppose increases in government spending, while Democrats voted against it because they said the extra borrowing would be used to give tax cuts to the wealthy.
Trump previously served as US president between 2017 and 2021.
The Republican defeated Democrat Kamala Harris in November’s US presidential election and will take office at the inauguration on Monday, January 20th, 2025.
