I read this ABC (Oz) article yesterday and I don't fully understand how the US political system works so I was a bit confused, but my previous comment about a glimmer of hope was definitely sparked:

US Congress rejects Trump-backed spending plan leaving government on brink of shutdown

"In short:

"A day before a potential government shutdown, the US Congress resoundingly rejected president-elect Donald Trump's new plan to fund operations and suspend the debt ceiling.

"Democrats blasted the bill and 38 Republicans voted against it too, with one representative saying he was 'sickened' by the package.
What's next?

"Speaker of the House Mike Johnson advised the US to 'stay tuned' and said 'we will come up with another solution'."

I get really confused about the option to shut down the government, which includes not paying Federal government employees for a month. Why? What's the point or benefit of even considering doing that?

I also watched the short video on Bill D's link, with the heading "'Government is for grown-ups and Republicans are children': Musk, Trump spark chaos on spending bill". The commentary on that was good, in my opinion.