The clock to avoid a government shutdown is ticking in Washington, D.C

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) – With a government shutdown possible and the holidays approaching, people who rely on steady paychecks could be left to make some tough decisions.

“If Republicans do not work with Democrats in a bipartisan way very soon, the government will shut down at midnight.” Democratic Senate Majority Leader, Chuck Schumer, on Friday, putting the political ball in the Republicans court.

The goal? Passing a funding bill by the end of the day.

Services like homeland security, transportation, veterans affairs, and the social security administration will shut down as well. That leaves nearly 1.5 million federal employees without money for bills, food, and the holidays.

“They reached a deal but then they released a text to their members and there was a lot of pushback, including pushback from the incoming president.”

Pushback is what sank the deal, according to MSU political science expert Matt Grossmann.

Now, the House and Senate have to reach some kind of agreement, so the government has money to operate and pay its employees in 2025.

“This is seen as the last train leaving the station for the year and so everybody wanted to put additional things on this bill.” Grossmann said, “The Democrats wanted something so the Republicans wanted something and it got longer and longer.”

According Democratic Senator Gary Peters, a bipartisan agreement to keep the government open was already set.

“One thing that our agreed bill did,” Peters said, “Was provide emergency funding to many of the communities that have been hit by natural disasters that we have seen.”

Republican Congressman Mike Johnson, on Thursday, recalling last spring when he said Democrats berated Republicans, saying it’s irresponsible to hold the debt limit hostage:

“It’s very disappointing to us that all but two Democrats voted against aid to farmers and ranchers, against disaster relief, against all these bipartisan measures that had already been negotiated and decided upon again. The only difference in this legislation was that we would push the debt ceiling to January of 2027.”

There are still a few hours left to avoid a government shutdown. The House and Senate have until midnight to reach an agreement.

If not, a lot of federal services will close and workers won’t see a paycheck.

The House is planning to vote soon.

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