House Passes Bill to Avoid Government Shutdown After Musk, Trump Meddling

The House approved a funding bill to avert a government shutdown — just hours before the midnight deadline. The bill will now move to the Senate for consideration.

The legislation passed by a vote of 366 in favor to 34 against, with 196 Democrats and 170 Republicans supporting the bill. All Democrats except one — Rep. Jasmine Crockett (Texas), who voted present — voted yes.

The measure would fund the government at current levels until March 14, and contains provisions for allocating roughly $100 billion to relief efforts to aid Americans in hurricane recovery and other natural disasters in the past two years, and $10 billion in aid to farmers.

Earlier this week, Elon Musk, self-described “First Buddy” of President-elect Donald Trump, attacked the proposed funding in a direct challenge to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who rolled out the sweeping plan on Tuesday that included provisions to cut prescription drug costs and curb private-sector investment to China.

The billionaire went on a posting spree on X (formerly Twitter) and amplified misinformation about the 1,500-page bill — as did his nongovernmental commission, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which recommended cuts to government spending and regulations to the incoming Trump administration.

Trump also opposed the resolution, according to a joint statement previously shared by Vice President-elect J.D. Vance. The president-elect demanded Republicans suspend or abolish the debt ceiling, effectively terminating a source of leverage for Democrats when he takes office.

However, the issue of the debt ceiling was not included in this bill despite pressure from Trump and his allies.