Trump-backed bill to keep US government running fails to pass

The US House of Representatives has voted against a Donald Trump-backed funding measure, bringing a government shutdown this weekend a step closer.

A revised spending plan failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed in the lower chamber of Congress, with 38 Republicans voting against the bill on Thursday night, defying the president-elect.

Trump had thwarted a previous cross-party funding deal that the Republican House leadership had struck with Democrats, after heavy criticism of the measure by tech billionaire Elon Musk.

After the bill failed by 174 votes to 235, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would come up with another solution before government funding lapses at midnight on Friday.

The Trump-approved replacement bill would have tied government funding to a two-year suspension of the federal debt limit, which determines how much the government can borrow to pay its bills.

Republican rebels objected because they oppose increases in government spending, while Democrats voted against it because they said the extra borrowing would be used to give tax cuts to the wealthy.