| A bill to avert a government shutdown failed on the House floor Thursday night, after Democrats and conservatives rebelled against Speaker Mike Johnson's new Donald Trump-backed spending plan. The measure went down decisively, 174-235, failing to meet a two-thirds bar for passage under a fast-track procedure, as 38 Republicans joined 197 Democrats to tank the bill. Two Democrats voted for the bill, and one voted present. With government funding set to expire at midnight Friday, Elon Musk and Trump lured Congress into a power struggle, demanding that Johnson abandon the bipartisan accord he struck with top Democrats this week and instead craft a bill favored by Republicans. By defeating that Trump-backed alternative, Democrats demonstrated that they won't help him pass bills if they don't have a seat at the negotiating table. Read the latest | 
