Members of the US Congress are returning to Washington today in a last-ditch battle to pass a funding bill that will keep the national government running.

A bill backed by President-elect Donald Trump was voted down by the House of Representatives on Thursday. On Tuesday, a bipartisan bill proposed by House Speaker Mike Johnson was also voted down.

If nothing is passed, there will be a government shutdown. This is when the federal government ceases all ‘non-essential’ operations – in 2013, a 16-day shutdown left only one person manning the country’s 5,525-mile long border with Canada. The last time one happened was in early 2019, during Trump’s first term in office.