Brief government shutdown ushered in before Christmas as Senate works to advance House bill

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., applauded the Senate for approving the D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act.

The bipartisan legislation now heads to President Biden’s desk.

"The Senate’s passage of the D.C. RFK Stadium Campus Revitalization Act is a historic moment for our nation’s capital. If Congress failed to act today, this decaying land in Washington would continue to cost taxpayers a fortune to maintain," Comer said.

"Revitalizing this RFK Memorial Stadium site has been a top economic priority for the city, and I am proud to have partnered with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to get this bill across the finish line and to the President’s desk. This bipartisan success is a testament to the House Oversight Committee’s unwavering effort to protect taxpayers and our full commitment to ensuring a capital that is prosperous for residents and visitors for generations to come," he added.

The bill would transfer responsibility for the site of the stadium in Washington, D.C., from the Department of the Interior to the General Services Administration.

A partial government shutdown began at 12:01 on Saturday morning after Congress failed to pass a stopgap spending measure before the deadline and send it to President Biden's desk.

However, the Senate is actively working through amendment votes and other considerations in order to send the measure to Biden. The stopgap bill is expected to be passed in the Senate in the coming hours.

The partial shutdown comes only days before Christmas and New Year's.

As of Thursday, the U.S. national debt was at $36,167,604,149,955.61 and was continuing to climb rapidly.

During a partial government shutdown, federal agencies and non-essential services are stopped, but some functions that are considered "essential" will continue. Certain national security functions, such as border patrol, law enforcement and disaster response, will remain active during the shutdown.

However, because the Senate is expected to move the bill forward imminently, the disruption to government function will be minimal, if at all noticeable.

Fox News' Julia Johnson contributed to this report.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., late Friday said the Senate was on course to pass a short-term spending bill before funding lapsed at the midnight deadline.

“I have very good news for my colleagues and for the country,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in announcing a time agreement for the vote.

And while the bill won’t get to President Joe Biden to be signed into law before funding lapses, don’t expect to see an impact on government operations.

There will not be agency furloughs, and most federal workers are already off the clock over the weekend anyhow.

According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a budget watchdog, 10 funding gaps of three days or fewer have occurred since 1981. Most took place over a weekend, when government operations were only minimally affected.

The Senate has begun voting on a series of measures that is expecting end with a vote on a government funding package.

Schumer said on the Senate floor that the time agreement would allow passage “before the midnight deadline.”

There will be a series of votes ahead of final passage, but support for the legislation is clear in the Senate.

There’s a chance the funding package won’t be passed until slightly after midnight.

The House approved a new plan from House Speaker Mike Johnson that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, but dropped President-elect Donald Trump’s demands for a debt limit increase into the new year.

The vote came a day after the House rejected Trump’s new plan to fund operations and suspend the debt ceiling, as Democrats and dozens of Republicans refused to accommodate his sudden demands.

In a late-night maneuver, the Senate passed a bipartisan bill that authorizes research on pediatric cancer after a similar proposal was cut when House Republicans abandoned the first funding deal this week.

On the Senate floor this evening, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) discussed the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0, a bill — now passed in the Senate — reauthorizing a pediatric disease research initiative within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through FY2028. The bill, H.R. 3391, also "requires the NIH to coordinate pediatric research activities to avoid duplicative efforts."

The government funding legislation that passed the House earlier Friday was a slimmed-down package from a deal that congressional leaders initially reached. Some Republicans, along with Elon Musk, celebrated that as a victory, but Democrats singled out the pediatric cancer research funding as an example of the things they were cutting.

The cancer research bill that gained final approval authorizes the program for a shorter period than congressional proponents had hoped, however, and other health research from the first funding proposal was still abandoned.

Sen. Kaine said he will vote for the continuing resolution anyway, but shared his disappointment with the bill's exclusion and used his time on the floor to advocate for authorization of the program.

“I'm going to vote for the C.R. when it comes over from the House. But if I'm going to have to explain to advocates that I share their disappointment for the fact that this ten year program, which has now produced more than $125 million in research into pediatric cancer, is going to be left on the floor, I have to at least make an effort here on the floor to authorize this program going forward.”

President-elect Trump isn't happy with the passage of a stopgap funding bill in the House because it doesn't doesn't include debt ceiling provisions, Fox News has learned.

The legislation doesn't include a measure to increase the debt ceiling, but Trump is staying out of the matter, a source familiar with the matter told Fox News.

The bill passed in the House and will move to the Senate for a vote.

Over 30 House Republicans voted Friday against a bill to avert a partial government shutdown.

Lawmakers scrambled to reach consensus on a spending package ahead of the looming partial government shutdown deadline on Friday. An initial 1,547-page bipartisan deal that would have extended the government funding deadline until March 14 was released on Tuesday night, but the proposal crumbled after Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy criticized the spending bill.

A more condensed, Trump-backed version was brought to the floor on Thursday night, but failed to pass. 

In a last minute vote on Friday, the House succeeded in passing a funding bill — with 34 Republicans voting against the legislation, and zero Democrats voting against it. One Democrat, Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas, voted present.

Among those who voted against the bill was Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., who told Fox News Digital "I don't know why we're giving Joe Biden $100 billion to play with in 30 days."

Other House members who voted against the bill include: Rep. and Sen.-elect Jim Banks, R-Ind., Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo, Rep. Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., Rep. Russ Fulcher, R-Idaho, Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., Rep. Diane Harshbarger, R-Tenn., Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., Rep. Greg Lopez, R-Colo., Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas.

Fox News Digital's Aubrie Spady and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he was "confident" the Senate would pass the stopgap spending bill overwhelmingly passed by the House late Friday.

"The House has overwhelmingly passed a bill to keep the government open and I’m confident the Senate will pass it as well. We hope to get it passed as soon as possible," he said in a statement.

"Though this bill does not include everything Democrats fought for, there are major victories in this bill for American families — provide emergency aid for communities battered by natural disasters, no debt ceiling, and it will keep the government open with no draconian cuts. As I have said, the only way to keep the government open is through bipartisanship."

The measure was not the original continuing resolution that Democrats pressed Republicans to return to after billionaire Elon Musk led a public campaign against it that resulted in it getting scrapped.

The short-term bill is similar to the one that failed on the House floor on Thursday evening, but it does not include the controversial debt ceiling suspension that President-elect Donald Trump had requested himself.

The measure included economic relief for farmers as well as disaster aid for those affected by storms earlier in the year.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said lawmakers were “really grateful” following the passing of the bill to avert a government shutdown.

“We are really grateful that tonight, in bipartisan fashion with an overwhelming, majority of votes, we passed the American Relief Act of 2025,” Johnson told reporters.

The bill funds the federal government through March. Specifically, Johnson noted the importance of disaster relief assistance for Americans still recovering from Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

“We also took care of our farmers, many of whom were on the brink of collapse because of BidenNomics,” he said.

Johnson said he spoke with President-elect Trump and Elon Musk before the House vote.

“I was in constant contact with, with President Trump, throughout this process. Spoke with him most recently about 45 minutes ago," said Johnson. “He, he knew exactly what we were doing and why. And, and this is a good outcome for the country. I think he certainly is happy about this outcome as well.”

“Elon Musk and I talked to within about an hour ago,” Johnson added. "And, and we talked about the extraordinary challenges of this job. And I said, hey, you want to be speaker of the House?” 

The bill now heads to the Senate.

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., one of 34 Republicans to vote against a stopgap bill to avert a government shutdown, said Democrats took out the provisions that President-elect Trump wanted in prior legislation.

“There's $5.7 billion for submarines. There's funding for the Francis Scott Key Bridge,” Burchett said, referring to the Baltimore bridge that was destroyed in March when a cargo ship crashed into it. “Well, the dadgum barge that hit it was insured and apparently it was 100%.”

Burchett also took issue with the amount aside for disaster relief.

“So, you know, $100 billion for disaster relief. Those folks need disaster aid. But where do they come up with the figure $100 billion? We don't trust this Biden administration with a nickel and we give them $100 billion to play with in 30 days. I think there are a lot of holes in that.” 

The White House on Friday endorsed the passing of a stopgap funding bill to keep the federal government open.

“President Biden supports moving this legislation forward and ensuring that the vital services the government provides for hardworking Americans," White House press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

“While it does not include everything we sought, it includes disaster relief that the President requested for the communities recovering from the storm, eliminates the accelerated pathway to a tax cut for billionaires, and would ensure that the government can continue to operate at full capacity," she added.

Jean-Pierre noted that a government shutdown would have paused essential government services and that military service members and air traffic controllers would have had to work without being paid.

The White House also criticized Republicans and President-elect Trump for failing to pass bipartisan legislation earlier.

“In order to pave the way to provide tax breaks for billionaires. This revised legislation does not do that,” said Jean-Pierre.

The House of Representatives has passed a bill to avert a partial government shutdown on Friday evening.

The deadline to avert a partial shutdown is just after midnight on Saturday.

The bill now heads to the Senate, led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

It comes after several previous iterations of the legislation were torpedoed over the last few days amid brutal House GOP infighting, as the national debt has climbed to over $36 trillion, and the national deficit is over $1.8 trillion.

Trump’s demand for Congressional Republicans to act on the debt limit before he comes to office was left out of the final bill, but Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., unveiled a plan to GOP lawmakers on Friday that would involve raising the debt limit next year while also seeking cuts to government spending.

The latter plan came after Johnson met with Trump’s incoming Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director and Vice President-elect JD Vance on Friday morning.

An initial 1,547-page bill, a bipartisan deal between the top two Democrats and Republicans in each Congressional chamber, did not even see a vote before House GOP leaders withdrew it after a tidal wave of conservative backlash – led by Trump, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.

A second bill, just 116 pages, failed on the House floor despite Trump’s endorsement.

House lawmakers reached a consensus on a newly negotiated spending bill that includes many of the same components of the earlier legislation — but without the debt limit provision that had sparked consternation among many in the party.

Republican leaders shared the text late Friday, shortly before lawmakers approved the spending legislation, 366-34.

The bill, unlike the version rejected last night, removes a debt limit extension sought by President-elect Donald Trump.

The new legislation also includes a $10 billion in aid to farmers and agriculture subsidies that were considered a must-pass by many lawmakers.

It also includes $100 billion in disaster aid for U.S. residents, including victims of devastating hurricanes in some U.S states.

"We will not have a government shutdown, and we will meet our obligations for our farmers who need aid, for the disaster victims all over the country, and for making sure that military and essential services, and everyone who relies upon the federal government for a paycheck is paid over the holidays,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters before Friday's, which passed 366-34.  

Senate Democrats labeled billionaire Elon Musk "co-president" and "shadow speaker" among other titles as they reacted to the original stopgap spending deal's implosion on Wednesday after he and ultimately President-elect Donald Trump came out against it. 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Musk "seems to be the guy in charge of the country now," reacting to his apparent ability to influence the bill's prompt failure despite it having been agreed upon by bipartisan leaders in Congress. 

If a measure to provide funding for the government is not passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden by midnight on Saturday morning, a partial government shutdown will go into effect. 

As of Thursday, the U.S. national debt was at $36,167,604,149,955.61 and continues to climb rapidly. 

After a 1,547-page short-term spending bill was debuted this week. Musk quickly took to X, formerly Twitter, to trash it, pointing out various seemingly irrelevant provisions as well as its cost and length. 

He was soon joined by other critics, and President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance issued their own statement opposing the bill. 

This led to significant criticism from Democrats unhappy with Musk's apparent ability to influence Trump and the Republicans in Congress. 

Fox News Digital's Julia Johnson contributed to this post.

The Smithsonian Institution on Friday said all museums and spaces operating under its umbrella would remain open through Dec. 26 in the event of a government shutdown.

"In the event of a government shutdown, our museums, research centers, and the National Zoo will remain OPEN through at least Thursday, Dec. 26. Please note that we are closed on Dec. 25," it said in a social media post.

The Smithsonian is a collection of museums, education and research centers

Elon Musk took aim at the new spending bill House lawmakers negotiated Friday, taking to X to question how much influence Republicans wielded in the negotiation process.

Musk’s remarks came in response to an X post from Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who noted that House Speaker Mike Johnson had opted to consolidate three components of their spending bill after meeting with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and realizing House lawmakers could secure the votes needed to pass the bill through the chamber.

“So, is this a Republican bill or a Democrat bill?” Musk quipped in response to Massie’s post, along with a “thinking” emoji.

Massie’s post comes after House Republicans had spent much of Friday weighing the idea of voting on three separate measures: the continued resolution, disaster relief, and farm aid to help avoid a government shutdown.

After meeting with Jeffries, Massie noted on X, Johnson “flipped his decision” and “realized he could get Democrat votes to pass all the legislation as one vote” — a process Musk appeared to take aim at in his post.

House Democrats have spent the last 42 hours fuming over Musk’s outsize influence in the spending bill negotiations and have blamed him for tanking GOP support for the original version of the spending legislation, which had been slated to pass with bipartisan support prior to his very public opposition.

Many spent yesterday accusing Republicans of taking cues from Musk, labelling the billionaire Tesla founder as “President Musk” in their conversations with reporters.

The House was expected to vote on a revamped spending bill to avert a government shutdown between 5 and 5:30 p.m. ET Friday.

In the event of a government shutdown, the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts wouldn't feel any immediate impact on their normal functions.

There is enough contingency funding for the high court in place for several weeks, but beyond that, there could be “serious disruptions," the judiciary said in a statement to Fox News.

“The Administrative Office of the United States Courts has announced that the Judiciary is prepared to use carryover funds and fees to keep the courts running for several weeks. Once that funding is exhausted, however, the federal courts face serious disruptions,” the statement said.

The next two weeks are fairly quiet for the federal judicial system – as trial courts have lighter schedules around the holidays -- and the next public session for the Supreme Court is on Jan. 10.

The court plans to handle its workload as usual, and any emergency appeals will be processed without delay. 

Fox News' Shannon Bream and Bill Mears contributed to this post.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called allowing a partial government shutdown to happen would be "foolish" in remarks on the chamber floor on Friday afternoon.

"I don't care to count how many times I've reminded our colleagues and our House counterparts how horrible it is to shut the government down," he said. "And how foolish it is to bet your own side won't take the blame for it."

He noted that "Recent history doesn't leave a whole lot of room for interpretation on that one. When you try to use normal government function as a bargaining chip, you pay a political price."

McConnell explained the divided nature of the U.S. government's components, and added that a Senate with one party capable of overcoming a legislative filibuster has not existed in a long time.

"You have a choice," he said. "Do nothing or try to find things you can agree on and do them together."

The outgoing Republican Senate leader explained, "Getting things done almost inevitably requires dealing with a lot of people who disagree."

His remarks came as Republicans in the House had yet to pass a stopgap spending bill to fund the government, with only hours until it will go into a partial shutdown.

House lawmakers are set to soon vote on a bill to avert a partial government shutdown after a similar measure backed by President-elect Trump failed on Thursday.

Congress is scrambling for a path forward as the clock ticks closer to the federal funding deadline, with a partial shutdown expected just after midnight Saturday if no action is taken.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., suggested there would be a House-wide vote Friday when leaving a closed-door House GOP meeting where leaders presented their plan.

"I expect that we will be proceeding forward," Johnson said. "We will not have a government shutdown, and we will meet our obligations for our farmers who need aid, for the disaster victims all over the country, and for making sure that military and essential services, and everyone who relies upon the federal government for a paycheck is paid over the holidays."

Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind, Aubrie Spady and Breanne Deppisch contributed to this post.