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Reuters

The US Congress passed spending legislation early on Saturday in a down-to-the wire burst of activity that will avert a destabilising government shutdown ahead of the busy holiday travel season.
The Democratic-controlled Senate in an 85-11 vote passed the bill to continue government funding 38 minutes after it expired at midnight. The government did not invoke shutdown procedures in the interim.
The bill was signed into law by US President Joe Biden later on Saturday.
The package had earlier cleared the Republican-controlled House of Representatives with bipartisan support.
The late-night vote capped a frantic week that saw US president-elect Donald Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk defeat an initial bipartisan deal, throwing Congress into disarray.
The final version stripped out some provisions championed by Democrats, who accused Republicans of caving in to pressure from an unelected billionaire who has no experience in government.
Congress did not act on Trump’s demand to raise the debt ceiling, a politically difficult task, before he takes office on January 20.

The federal government spent roughly US$6.2 trillion last year and has more than US$36 trillion in debt, and Congress will need to act to authorise further borrowing by the middle of next year.
The legislation would extend government funding until March 14, provide US$100 billion for disaster-hit states and US$10 billion for farmers, and extend farm and food aid programmes due to expire at the end of the year.
Some Republicans voted against the package because it did not cut spending. House Speaker Mike Johnson said the party will have more influence next year, when they will have majorities in both chambers of Congress and Trump will be in the White House.
“This was a necessary step to bridge the gap, to put us into that moment where we can put our fingerprints on the final decisions on spending,” he told reporters after the House vote. He said Trump supported the package.
A government shutdown would have disrupted everything from law enforcement to national parks and suspended pay cheques for millions of federal workers.
A travel industry trade group warned it could cost airlines, hotels and other companies US$1 billion per week and lead to widespread disruptions during the busy Christmas season. Authorities warned travellers could face long queues at airports.
The package resembled a bipartisan plan that was abandoned earlier this week after an online fusillade from Trump and Musk, who said it contained too many unrelated provisions, such as a pay rise for lawmakers and a crackdown on pharmacy benefit managers.
Republicans struck most of those elements from the bill – including a provision limiting investments in China which Democrats said would have conflicted with Musk’s interests.
“He clearly does not want to answer questions about how much he plans to expand his businesses in China and how many American technologies he plans to sell,” Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro said on the House floor.

Trump has tasked Musk, the world’s richest person, with heading a budget-cutting task force but he will hold no official position in Washington.
Musk wrote on social media that he was happy with the package. “It went from a bill that weighed pounds to a bill that weighed ounces,” he posted.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said his party still achieved some of its goals and prevented Republicans from enacting a debt-ceiling hike that would make it easier to cut taxes.
“We have successfully advanced the needs of everyday Americans, but there are still things to be worked on and we look forward to that fight in the new year,” he told reporters.
Trump’s demand to lift the debt ceiling was resoundingly rejected by the House – including 38 Republicans – on Thursday.
Johnson said lawmakers would look at the issue in January.
Congressman Rich McCormick, one of 34 Republicans who voted against the Friday bill, said it did nothing to change the nation’s fiscal trajectory and would only add to the debt load.
“We will be the country of the past if we continue doing what we’re doing,” he said.
The federal government last shut down for 35 days during Trump’s first White House term over a dispute about border security.
Previous fights over the debt ceiling have spooked financial markets, as a US government default would send credit shocks around the world. The limit has been suspended under an agreement that technically expires on January 1, though lawmakers likely would not have had to tackle the issue before the spring.


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United States

US Senate passes government funding bill to avert shutdown

The US Capitol in Washington. The US Congress averted a government shutdown by passing a bill to fund federal agencies through mid-March. Photo: AFP

US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to reporters in the US Capitol on Thursday. Photo: TNS

US president-elect Donald Trump (left) and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk watch a UFC fight at Madison Square Garden in New York in November. Photo: AFP

President Musk? World’s wealthiest man makes his presence felt in Washington

President-elect Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Vice-President-elect J.D. Vance at a NCAA college football game between Army and Navy. Photo: AP

Elon Musk holds his son on his shoulders at Capitol Hill in Washington on December 5. Photo: Reuters

 Elon Musk and US President-elect Donald Trump. Photo: Reuters

President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk watch a UFC fight at Madison Square Garden in New York, on November 16. Photo: AFP

US government shutdown looms as Trump-backed spending deal fails in House

The US Capitol in Washington, DC. Photo: AFP

President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk. File photo: AP

US House Speaker Mike Johnson. Photo: Reuters

International students urged to return to US before Trump inauguration

Students pass through a  landmark gate at the University of Berkeley in California. File photo: Shutterstock Images

Sahar Yarjani Muranovic (L) greets her sister, Iranian student Sara Yarjani, upon Sara’s arrival in Los Angeles in February 2017. Yarjani had been detained for 23 hours during a travel ban. Photo: EPA

US president-elect Donald Trump. Phhoto: Reuters

Canada’s Justin Trudeau shakes up cabinet as he faces Trump attacks, pressure to step down

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau departs after a cabinet swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Friday. Photo: Canadian Press via AP

New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh speaks in London, Ontario, in June 2021. Photo: Canadian Press via AP

Canada’s Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland attends the Ukranian Breakfast on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos in January. Photo: TNS

Musk emerges as Trump’s enforcer with ‘naughty list’ targeting key Republicans and Democrats

US president-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk watch the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on November 19 in Brownsville, Texas. Photo: Getty Images

Marjorie Taylor Greene talks to reporters following a meeting about president-elect Donald Trump’s picks for the planned Department of Government Efficiency on December 5. Photo: AP

Elon Musk jumps on the stage as Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on October 5. Photo: AP

News

World

United States & Canada

Politics

The new package dropped US president-elect Trump’s demands for a debt-limit increase


The new package dropped US president-elect Trump’s demands for a debt-limit increase.
