Following two previous failed attempts, the United States House of Representatives and Senate have passed a short-term government funding bill minutes after the deadline to narrowly avert a government shutdown.

The government was heading towards a Friday midnight shutdown after a majority of Republican lawmakers ditched an initial bipartisan deal with the Democrats to extend government spending at current levels until March on Wednesday.

The bill, which also included other provisions like relief for disaster victims and farmers and a pay raise for members of Congress, failed to pass after billionaire President-elect Donald Trump’s ally Elon Musk mounted social media pressure on Republican lawmakers to vote ‘NO’ on the bill. 

On Thursday, a new bill endorsed by Mr Trump and Mr Musk, which included raising the debt ceiling to January 2027 from June of next year failed by a 174-235-1 vote with 38 Republicans voting against it, leaving funding of the government in limbo.

“A government shutdown heading into the holidays would mean service members and air traffic controllers go to work without pay, essential government services for hardworking Americans would be paused, and economic disruption would occur,” Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said in a statement on Friday.

However, 38 minutes after the 12am deadline had elapsed in the early hours of Saturday, the Senate finally approved the House passed short-term government funding bill by a vote of 85-11 to narrowly avoid the shutdown of government.

The legislation will extend government funding until March 14, providing $100 billion for disaster aid, $30 billion for farmers and a one-year extension of the farm bill but did not include the debt ceiling increase that Mr Trump had demanded.

Meanwhile, the legislation has been sent to President Joe Biden’s desk and he is expected to sign it on Saturday.