If there has to be a shutdown, better that it happens now with Biden
In the final hours before a midnight deadline, Washington found itself caught in a familiar American drama: a government unable to agree on the terms of its own continuity. House Republicans, fractured between ideological purists and pragmatists, scrambled through a third funding proposal in two days, while President-elect Trump openly preferred a shutdown under Biden's watch to any compromise that might cost him political advantage. What hung in the balance was not merely a procedural vote, but the livelihoods of millions of federal workers and the quiet trust that citizens place in institutions to function.
- With midnight approaching, House Republicans had already watched two funding proposals collapse in less than 48 hours — torpedoed by their own members and amplified by Trump and Elon Musk's public pressure campaigns.
- Nearly 875,000 federal workers faced furlough and 1.4 million essential employees would work without pay, with military salaries and Social Security payments hanging in the balance over the Christmas holiday.
- Speaker Johnson's third attempt stripped out Trump's demanded debt ceiling increase entirely, splitting the measure into three separate votes in a desperate bid to find any combination that could pass.
- Trump made his political calculus explicit — if a shutdown had to happen, he wanted it on Biden's ledger, not his own, signaling he would not bend toward compromise.
- Senate Republicans openly condemned the House as dysfunctional, while the White House quietly sent shutdown preparation orders to federal agencies and both Biden and Harris cut short their weekend plans to return to Washington.
On a Friday afternoon in Washington, House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled a third funding proposal in two days, hoping to prevent the federal government from shutting down at midnight. The plan temporarily funded operations and disaster relief while deferring the most contentious issue — a debt ceiling increase demanded by Donald Trump — into the new year. It was, by any measure, a bridge being built in real time.
The path to this moment had been bruising. A bipartisan bill spanning over 1,500 pages collapsed Thursday night after Trump and Elon Musk publicly opposed it. A second Republican-only bill, which included Trump's desired two-year debt ceiling suspension alongside $110 billion in disaster and agricultural aid, also failed — rejected by Freedom Caucus hardliners who opposed any expansion of borrowing authority, and by every Democrat. Johnson's Plan C stripped the debt ceiling out entirely, breaking the measure into three separate votes.
Trump, unmoved by the legislative gymnastics, stated his preference plainly: if a shutdown was coming, better it arrive while Biden was still president. The political logic was transparent — blame would fall on the outgoing administration, not on the president-elect taking office January 20th.
The human stakes were severe. Some 875,000 federal civilian workers would be furloughed, while 1.4 million deemed essential would work without pay. Military personnel would miss Christmas salaries. Social Security recipients would face delays. Federal agencies had already received shutdown preparation guidelines from the White House budget office.
Senate Republicans did not hide their frustration, calling the House's performance a fiasco and a dysfunction that exposed the party's inability to govern despite controlling both chambers and the incoming presidency. At the White House, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was direct: Republicans had broken it, and Republicans would have to fix it. Still, both Biden and Harris quietly returned to Washington, bracing for whatever the midnight hour would bring.
The clock was running down on Friday afternoon in Washington, and the House Republican leadership was scrambling to assemble a deal that might hold together long enough to prevent the federal government from grinding to a halt at midnight. Speaker Mike Johnson announced a new plan in the early afternoon that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster relief, but punt the thorniest issue—Donald Trump's demand for a debt ceiling increase—into the new year. The vote had to happen before the stroke of midnight, and the entire enterprise felt like watching someone try to build a bridge while standing on it.
What made this moment so precarious was that the Republicans had already failed twice in two days. On Thursday night, a bipartisan proposal spanning more than 1,500 pages went down in flames, torpedoed by Trump and amplified by Elon Musk's megaphone on X. Then a second Republican-only bill, which Trump himself had backed, also collapsed. The second proposal had included what Trump wanted most: a two-year suspension of the debt ceiling, the legal limit on how much the government can borrow to pay its bills. It also contained $110 billion in disaster and agricultural aid. But nearly four dozen Republicans joined every Democrat in voting no. For the hardliners clustered around the Freedom Caucus, any increase in borrowing authority was a non-starter. For Democrats, it was equally unacceptable.
So Johnson's third attempt—Plan C, as it was being called—stripped out the debt ceiling entirely. Instead, it would allow three separate votes: one on government funding, one on disaster aid, one on agricultural assistance. Trump, however, was not interested in patience or compromise. On Friday, he made his position unmistakable: if there had to be a shutdown, he preferred it happen now, while Biden was still president. "If there has to be a shutdown, better that it happens now with Biden," he said. He would take office on January 20th. The calculation was transparent—if Trump could pin responsibility for a shutdown on the outgoing Democratic administration, the political damage would land on Biden's desk, not his.
The potential consequences were staggering. Around 875,000 federal civilian workers would be automatically furloughed. Another 1.4 million deemed essential would be required to keep working, but without paychecks. Military personnel would not receive their salaries over Christmas. Millions of Americans dependent on Social Security checks would face delays. Every federal agency would be affected. The White House Office of Management and Budget was already sending shutdown preparation guidelines to agencies, instructing them to determine which employees would be suspended and which activities would halt. Each department had its own procedures, but the machinery of government would essentially seize up.
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans were furious. They called the House's performance a "shit show," "dysfunctional," and a "fiasco." Two failed votes in less than 48 hours had exposed the party's inability to govern, even with control of both chambers and the presidency-elect. The real problem, though, was not Trump or Musk anymore—it was the ultramontane wing of the Republican caucus, the ideological purists who saw any debt ceiling increase as a betrayal of fiscal principle, regardless of the practical consequences.
At the White House, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked why President Biden had not spoken publicly about the impending shutdown. "The president doesn't have to fix this," she said. "Republicans broke it. Republicans have to fix it." Yet both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had cut short their weekend plans and returned to Washington on Friday, a signal that the administration was bracing for impact. The question now was whether Johnson could hold his caucus together long enough to pass something—anything—before midnight, or whether the government would shut down on his watch, with all the chaos and suffering that entailed.
Citas Notables
If there has to be a shutdown, better that it happens now with Biden still in the presidency— Donald Trump
The president doesn't have to fix this. Republicans broke it. Republicans have to fix it.— Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Press Secretary
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does Trump want the debt ceiling increase so badly right now, when he's about to be president anyway?
Because he wants to lock in the borrowing authority before he takes office. Once he's in power, he'll need that ceiling raised to fund his agenda—tax cuts, military spending, whatever else he's promised. Getting it done now, while Democrats are still in charge, lets him blame them if it's unpopular, and gives him a clean slate in January.
But wouldn't a shutdown hurt him politically, even if he blames Biden?
You'd think so. But Trump seems to believe the opposite—that a shutdown under Biden makes Biden look weak and incompetent. He's betting the public will forget who actually caused it by the time he's sworn in. And he's probably right that his base won't hold him responsible.
What about the Republican senators who are so angry?
They're furious because the House keeps failing, and it makes the whole party look broken. But they're also trapped. They can't override Trump without splitting the party, and they can't pass anything without him. So they're stuck watching the House implode.
Who actually suffers if this happens?
The people who depend on government paychecks—federal workers, military personnel, Social Security recipients. Also anyone who needs federal services that shut down. It's not abstract. It's real people not getting paid right before Christmas.
Is there any way out of this by midnight?
Johnson was trying to thread an impossible needle—a bill that excludes the debt ceiling to appease the hardliners, but maybe structured in a way that lets him bring Trump along anyway. Whether that works depends on whether Trump decides he wants a deal or a shutdown. And by Friday afternoon, it wasn't clear which one he actually wanted.