The United States government will shut down on Saturday unless Congress reaches an agreement on a spending bill ahead of Friday night’s deadline.
According to NBC News, the federal government’s funding will expire at the end of the day on Friday unless a spending bill is approved by both chambers of Congress. The outlet noted that a government spending bill supported by President-elect Donald Trump was voted down in the House of Representatives on Friday as 38 Republicans and almost every Democrat voted against it.
Friday’s vote came after the president-elect and Tesla CEO Elon Musk placed pressure on Republicans to reject the initial funding plan proposed on Tuesday.
In a Friday statement on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now, under the Biden Administration, not after January 20th, under ‘TRUMP.’ This is a Biden problem to solve, but if Republicans can help solve it, they will!”
According to NBC News, Congress is required to pass spending bills each year prior to October 1, which is the start of the government’s new fiscal year. However, in September, Congress only approved a continuing resolution to keep the government operational until December 20. As a result, non-essential government operations will be temporarily halted if a federal spending deal is not reached on Friday.
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According to NBC News, if Congress is not successful at passing a spending bill, the government will shut down at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday. The outlet noted that while hundreds of thousands of government employees could be temporarily furloughed, they would receive retroactive pay when the government reopens.
While non-essential government functions would shut down on Saturday, essential operations, such as the U.S. military and public safety, including the Transportation Security Administration, would remain ongoing.
A Defense Department official told NBC News that active military personnel would continue reporting for duty, emergency outpatient care and inpatient care at Pentagon medical facilities would remain available, and retired military members would continue to receive their benefits even in the event of a government shutdown.
According to NBC News, President Joe Biden and members of the House of Representatives and the Senate would also continue to work and receive compensation during a government shutdown. Additionally, Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and veterans’ benefits would continue to be distributed to Americans.
