US lawmakers reject Republican bill to avert government shutdown [Video]

The US House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly rejected a Republican-led funding bill aimed at averting a government shutdown, with federal agencies due to run out of cash on Friday night and cease operations starting this weekend.

The contentious legislation would have suspended the country’s borrowing limit for President-elect Donald Trump’s first two years in office and dozens of debt hawks in the Republican ranks rebelled against their own leadership to sink the package.

It was a defeat for the Republican leader, who with tech billionaire Elon Musk — his incoming “efficiency czar” — had thrown his weight behind the plan.

It was supposed to fix a mammoth bipartisan package that both men had sabotaged on Wednesday amid conservatives’ complaints about extras in the package ballooning its overall cost.

The retooled version was considered under a fast-track method that required two-thirds support but Democrats had been clear that they would …