Major funding deadline for US government looms large

The possibility of a US government shutdown is now looming large after a deadlocked Congress was unable to pass an extension.

A US government shutdown is looming large after a funding package pushed by Republican House speaker Mike Johnson was shot down.

It comes after Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for the US presidential election, called for a government shutdown if legislation was not passed to target noncitizen voting.

Mr Trump had urged Republicans to kill off any continuing resolution, an appropriation bill for government departments, if his demands were not met.

“If Republicans don’t get the SAVE Act, and every ounce of it, they should not agree to a Continuing Resolution in any way, shape, or form,” Mr Trump wrote on social media before the latest vote.

In the end, the funding extension, which would have lasted until March 2025 did not pass, making a government shutdown even more likely, with funds expected to dry up by the end of September.

The bill was slapped down 220-202, with 14 House Republicans opposing the package and three Democrats voting in favour.

It’s the latest in the game of cat and mouse that Republicans and Democrats have been playing for years over government funding, which at times has led to painful and expensive shutdowns.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson walks to the House Chamber during floor votes at the US Capitol on September 11, 2024 in Washington, DC. Picture: AFP

Congress needs a stopgap bill known as a continuing resolution to keep the government running past November’s presidential election, but the parties are nowhere near agreement on a full-year budget.

The six-month extension proposed on Wednesday would have punted the shutdown deadline into March, when the next president would already be in the Oval Office.

The draft also included the SAVE Act, a Trump-backed measure that requires proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections.

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has called for new laws to prevent noncitizens from voting. Picture: AFP

But President Joe Biden’s administration, worried about eligible voters being blocked from voter rolls or otherwise deterred, opposes the act.

It noted that noncitizen voting is already illegal and that there is no evidence it happens.

A government shutdown would see the closure of federal agencies and national parks, limiting public services and furloughing millions of workers without pay just weeks before the election.

Mr Trump, who holds sway over many House Republicans, continues to claim falsely that he was cheated by voter fraud in the 2020 election.

He lobbied Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to add the election measure to the funding package.

Mr Johnson called off a vote on the funding plan last week as it became increasingly clear how unpopular it was with members of his party.

In a statement on Wednesday, House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rosa DeLauro said: “Once again, the House Republican majority has failed at its most basic tasks.” “We have seven legislative days to keep the government open,” Ms DeLauro added.

- with AFP