The United States House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a stopgap plan to avert a government shutdown that would pile more pain on the economic chaos marring President Donald Trump’s early weeks in office.
The chamber led by the Republicans agreed in a largely party-line vote to keep the government funded through September 30, giving Trump the summer months to steer his agenda of tax cuts, mass deportations and boosted energy production through Congress.
The drama now moves to the Republican-led Senate, which needs to provide its own rubber stamp before Friday night’s midnight shutdown deadline.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, laying down the gauntlet for the upper chamber minority, said it now decision time for Senate Democrats to cast a vote to keep the government open or be responsible for shutting it down.
The threat of a weekend shutdown comes with Wall Street reeling from Trump’s trade war and radical cuts to federal spending that have seen tens of thousands of layoffs.
Traders had initially reacted with optimism to the Republican billionaire’s election, but growing fears that his tariffs will reignite inflation and spark a recession have led to a three-week market sell-off.
If the Senate fails to follow the House, there will be more economic misery as the government grinds to a halt, potentially leading to tens of thousands of public employees being furloughed as federal agencies shutter.
US House passes bill to avert govt shutdown
