US government nears shutdown despite Trump's support for new proposal

Republicans in the US Congress reached a consensus on a new spending package and voted to avert a government shutdown on December 21. However, updated results show that the bill was not passed.

Republican lawmakers in the US House of Representatives plan to vote on December 20 (Vietnam time).

"We have reached an agreement," Reuters on December 20 quoted Republican Congressman Tom Cole, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, telling reporters about a new solution to prevent the US government from shutting down in the near future.

The new proposal would fund the government for three months, until President-elect Donald Trump enters the White House and Republicans take control of both houses of Congress, Reuters reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.

The proposal also includes $100 billion in disaster aid and $10 billion in aid for agriculture and related activities.

The deal also postpones the debt ceiling until January 2027, meaning trillions of dollars will be added to the current $36 trillion federal debt.

The new Republican proposal has received support from Mr. Trump. Previously, the President-elect voiced his opposition to the bipartisan agreement, causing Republican lawmakers on December 18 to unexpectedly reject the bill to prevent a government shutdown before the vote.

Despite Mr Trump's support, Democrats in Congress immediately rejected the new proposal from Republican lawmakers on the grounds of "not being serious" and "ridiculous".

Currently, the Republicans control the House of Representatives by a ratio of 219-211, the bill is unlikely to pass if the Democrats unite to reject it.

Update: The US House of Representatives rejected a bill to maintain temporary spending budget for the US government, after Republican leaders withdrew from the previous bipartisan agreement and made adjustments because of President-elect Donald Trump's objections. The result of the vote on the evening of December 19 local time (morning of December 20 Vietnam time) was 174-235, failing to reach the number of votes needed for the bill to pass. Despite Mr. Trump's support, 38 Republican congressmen voted against, and only 2 Democratic congressmen voted in favor.

That means the US government is approaching the threshold of a temporary shutdown from December 21.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chinh-phu-my-tien-gan-nguy-co-dong-cua-du-ong-trump-ung-ho-de-xuat-moi-18524122006065445.htm