policy
WASHINGTON (AP) — Just hours before the midnight government shutdown, the House late Friday approved a brand new plan from Speaker Mike Johnson that will temporarily fund federal operations and disaster relief but dropped President-elect Donald Trump's calls to lift the debt limit latest 12 months.
Johnson insisted that Congress would “fulfill our obligations” and never allow federal operations to shut down before the Christmas holidays. But the day's consequence was uncertain after Trump once more insisted that any deal would come with a debt ceiling increase – if not, he said in an early morning post, the shutdowns should “start now.”
The bill passed by a vote of 366-34 and now heads to the Senate for expected quick passage.
“We are pleased with this result,” Johnson said afterwards, adding that he had spoken to Trump and that the president-elect “was certainly pleased with this result as well.”
It was the third attempt by Johnson, the embattled speaker of the House of Representatives, to satisfy one in all the federal government's basic demands – to maintain it open. And it raised serious questions on whether Johnson can keep his job within the face of disgruntled GOP colleagues and work with Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk, who made the legislative decisions this time.
Trump's last-minute demand was nearly unattainable, and Johnson had almost no alternative but to sidestep his push for a debt ceiling increase. The speaker knew there wouldn't be enough support throughout the GOP majority to pass a funding package, as many Republicans favor cutting the federal government and definitely wouldn't allow more debt.
Instead, Republicans, who could have full control of the White House, House and Senate next 12 months and have big plans for tax cuts and other priorities, are showing that they routinely should depend on Democrats to get the votes they need. to maintain up with the routine operations of governing.
“So is this a Republican bill or a Democratic bill?” Musk teased on social media before the vote.
The latest 118-page package would fund the federal government at current levels through March and add $100 billion in disaster relief and $10 billion in agricultural aid for farmers.
Gone is Trump's demand to lift the debt ceiling, which GOP leaders would advise lawmakers on as a part of their tax and border packages in the brand new 12 months. Republicans reached a so-called handshake agreement to lift the debt limit while cutting spending by $2.5 trillion over 10 years.
It's essentially the identical deal that collapsed the night before in a spectacular setback – opposed by most Democrats and a few of the most conservative Republicans – minus Trump's demand for a debt ceiling.
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has been in contact with Johnson, but Democrats reacted coolly to the newest motion after the Republican speaker abandoned their original bipartisan compromise.
“Welcome back to the MAGA swamp,” Jeffries wrote.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the highest Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said it looked like Musk, an unelected official and the richest man on this planet, was calling the shots for Trump and Republicans.
“Who’s in charge?” she asked in the course of the debate.
Still, the White House supported the ultimate bill and Democrats solid more votes than Republicans for its passage. Nearly three dozen Republicans voted against it.
Trump, who has not yet been sworn into office, is showing the facility but in addition the bounds of his influence over Congress by intervening and orchestrating affairs from Mar-a-Lago, together with Musk, who heads the brand new administration's latest ministry leads government efficiency.
“If there is going to be a government shutdown, let it begin now,” Trump posted on social media early this morning.
Trump just isn’t afraid of presidency shutdowns, just as Johnson and lawmakers view federal shutdowns as political losers that hurt Americans' livelihoods. The latest Trump administration is promising to chop the federal budget and lay off 1000’s of employees. Trump himself triggered the longest government shutdown in history during his first term within the White House, the months-long shutdowns in the course of the Christmas holidays in 2018 and New Year's holidays in 2019.
More necessary to the president-elect was his demand to place the thorny debt ceiling debate off the table before returning to the White House. The federal debt limit expires on January 1, and Trump doesn’t want the primary months of his latest administration to be burdened with tough negotiations in Congress to extend the country's borrowing capability. It gives leverage to Democrats, who shall be within the minority next 12 months.
“Congress must abolish the ridiculous debt ceiling, or perhaps extend it through 2029,” Trump wrote, increasing his call for a five-year increase within the debt limit. “Without this, we should never make a deal.”
Johnson initially tried to appease Trump's demands, but ultimately needed to sidestep them.
Trump and Musk unleashed their opposition – and their social media army – against the unique plan presented by Johnson. It was a 1,500-page bipartisan compromise he reached with Democrats that included disaster relief for hardest-hit states but didn’t address the debt ceiling situation.
A Trump-backed second plan, Thursday's slimmed-down 116-page bill with its preferred two-year debt limit increase through 2027, failed in monumental defeat and was rejected as a frivolous attempt by most Democrats – but in addition by conservative Republicans who refuse to pile on the nation's red ink.
On Friday morning, Vice President-elect JD Vance and Trump's latest director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, arrived on the Capitol, where a bunch of objectors from the hardline House Freedom Caucus met with Johnson.
Later, in the course of the House Republicans' lunchtime session within the basement of the Capitol, Johnson asked for a show of hands to chart a path forward, Republican Rep. Ralph Norman said.
Government staff have already been told to organize for a federal shutdown that will send tens of millions of employees — and military personnel — into the vacation season and not using a paycheck.
President Joe Biden played a less public role in the controversy in the ultimate weeks of his term, drawing criticism from Trump and Republicans who sought to shift blame for an eventual shutdown onto him.
Biden has held talks with Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, but White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: “The Republicans blew up this deal.” They did, and so they have to fix the issue .”
At one point, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell intervened to remind his colleagues “how damaging it is to shut down the government and how foolish it is to bet that your own side won’t take the blame.” becomes.”
The speaker's election is the primary vote of the brand new Congress, which convenes on January 3, and Johnson will need the support of nearly each House Republican in his razor-thin majority to make sure he can keep the gavel.
Since some have mentioned Musk as a speaker, Johnson said he also spoke to him. He said they discussed the “extraordinary challenges of this job.”
As the speaker in Washington twisted, his danger became clear. At Turning Point USA's conservative AmericaFest conference late Thursday, Trump ally Steve Bannon stirred 1000’s of activists with a crushing defeat by the Louisiana Republican.
“Obviously Johnson is not up to the task. He has to go,” Bannon said, drawing cheers.
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