Where Things Stand  — House Republican leaders are offering a new proposal to avert a shutdown, a day after President-elect Donald J. Trump torpedoed a spending deal that House Speaker Mike Johnson had struck with Democrats.  The plan would tie an extension of government funding …

The Chaos Monkeys Have Already Taken Over the Zoo  —  The peddlers of misinformation are high on their own supply  —  Well, I was going to post about proposals for bank deregulation, but I think that can wait for a bit.  The news of the moment is the looming prospect that the federal government will shut down over the weekend.

GOP strikes a new spending deal  —  Republicans have struck a deal on a short-term government spending patch and potential debt limit increase, according to two GOP lawmakers meeting in Speaker Mike Johnson's office Thursday afternoon.  “There is an agreement,” said Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.).

Republicans Cut Child Cancer Research From Funding Bill After Musk's Meddling  —  The House GOP has been in a state of chaos after the billionaire led a campaign to kill a bipartisan funding bill  —  Less than 48 hours before defaulting and triggering a shutdown, Congress is still scrambling …

Trump's demands leave Republicans flailing with no plan on eve of shutdown  —  GOP leaders have kept both chambers waiting as they privately discuss a Plan B after President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk torched their bipartisan funding deal.  —  WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson …

Closures, Social Security checks, furloughs: What a government shutdown might mean  —  Congress has until midnight Friday to come up with a way to fund the government or federal agencies will shut down, meaning hundreds of thousands of federal employees could be sent home — or stay on the job without pay — just ahead of the holidays.

Trump team affirms he's leader of GOP amid ‘President Musk’ barbs  —  President-elect Trump's transition team pushed back against Democratic lawmakers who suggested Elon Musk is the “real leader” of the Republican Party after his aggressive pressure campaign against a stopgap spending measure.

Behind the Curtain: Musk's America … - A Trump source told us this is the new playbook: Republican lawmakers got “instant and overwhelming feedback. … You should never bet against Trump or Elon.”  — Now, the two are a combined force blanketing culture, media and governance.

Trump calls for abolishing the debt ceiling  —  In a phone interview with NBC News, Trump said getting rid of the debt ceiling entirely would be the “smartest thing [Congress] could do.  I would support that entirely.”  —  President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday that Congress should get rid …

Trump-backed funding bill fails as government shutdown looms  —  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 …