US House of Representatives rejects Trump-backed plan on government shutdown

The US House of Representatives has rejected a funding plan backed by President-elect Donald Trump. The plan, which aimed to fund federal operations and suspend the debt ceiling, was intended to avoid a government shutdown this weekend. However, the bill failed to pass with a vote of 174 to 235, as Democrats and some Republicans refused to support the quick plan put together by Republican leaders. According to Dr Patrick Schottmer, Associate Professor of American Politics at Seattle University, the conservative faction of the Republican Party, known as the Freedom Caucus, was opposed to the plan because it would have deferred debt limit debates for two years, taking away their ability to drive the agenda. “A lot of them were objecting to the, essentially deferring any further debt limit debates until two years down the road. The very conservative faction, the Freedom Caucus, likes to use debt ceiling limit debates as opportunities to try to wring concessions out of the majority. And with that being taken off the table, that would take away a lot of their ability to try to drive the agenda,” Mr Schottmer told Sky News Australia. "This is a significant challenge for Trump, who will have to navigate a difficult and unpredictable House of Representatives.”