WASHINGTON — A band of conservative rebels on Friday revolted and blocked House Republicans’ short-term funding bill to keep the government open, delivering a political blow to Speaker Kevin McCarthy and likely cementing the chances of a painful government shutdown that is less than 48 hours away.

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Twenty-one rebels, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., a conservative bomb-thrower and a top Donald Trump ally, voted Friday afternoon to scuttle the 30-day funding bill, known as a continuing resolution or CR, leaving Republicans without a game plan to avert a shutdown. The vote failed, 198-232.

The hard-liners say they are unconcerned if the government shuts down, as it appears likely to do at 12:01 a.m. Sunday. They want the House to pass all 12 appropriations bills, with steep spending cuts, then negotiate funding with the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Asked earlier Friday if he had the votes to defeat the CR, Gaetz simply replied: “Yes.”

House Republicans will now try to regroup, with little time left. McCarthy has scheduled a special closed-door meeting of House Republicans for 4 p.m. ET. in the basement of the Capitol.

A day earlier, McCarthy had rallied his troops behind the GOP’s stopgap funding bill, saying a shutdown would “weaken” the GOP’s negotiating position and hand the White House and the Senate more leverage. McCarthy’s CR includes across-the-board spending cuts and would fund the government through Oct. 31, to buy Republicans more time to pass their appropriations bills.

“I think the failure to move something this afternoon clearly puts the advantage back on the Senate bill,” said Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., a top appropriator, referring to the Senate’s 45-day CR, which lacks the spending cuts and border funding conservatives are pushing for.

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The embarrassing failure of the GOP measure once again highlights the dilemma for McCarthy as his hard-liners strongly oppose a short-term bill even if it includes conservative priorities. It leaves Congress on a path to a shutdown, with no apparent offramp to avoiding it — or to quickly reopen the government.