Johnson insisted that Congress “meet our obligations” and not allow federal jobs to shut down before the Christmas holiday season. But the outcome of the day was uncertain after Trump insisted that any deal include a debt ceiling hike — if not, he said in a morning post, shutdowns “start now.”
The bill was approved 366-34, and now heads to the Senate, for expected speedy passage.
“We’re thrilled with the outcome,” Johnson said later, adding that he had spoken with Trump and the president-elect “was certainly pleased with the outcome”.
It was the third attempt by Johnson, the embattled House speaker, to achieve one of the federal government’s basic needs — keeping it open. And it raised serious questions about whether Johnson would be able to keep his job, facing angry GOP colleagues, and whether he would be able to work with Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk, who this time called the legislative plays.
Trump’s last-minute demand was an almost impossible ask, and Johnson had no choice but to work around his push for a debt ceiling increase. The speaker knew that there would not be enough support within the GOP majority to pass any funding package, as many Republicans would prefer to slash the federal government and certainly not allow more debt.
Instead, Republicans, who will have full control of the White House, House and Senate next year, with big plans for tax cuts and other priorities, are showing up to get the votes they regularly rely on Democrats to keep routine operations going. of governance.
“So is this a Republican bill or a Democrat bill?” Before the vote, Musk was mocked on social media.
The new 118-page package would fund the government at current levels until March and add USD 100 billion in disaster aid and USD 10 billion in agricultural aid to farmers.
Gone is Trump’s demand to eliminate the debt ceiling, which GOP leaders have told lawmakers will be debated as part of their tax-and-limit packages in the new year. Republicans at that time negotiated a so-called handshake agreement to raise the debt ceiling and also cut USD 2.5 trillion in spending over 10 years.
It’s essentially the same deal that flopped the night before in a spectacular blow — opposed by many Democrats and some of the most conservative Republicans — minus Trump’s demand for a debt ceiling.
Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffreys has been in contact with Johnson, but Democrats have been quiet on the latest effort after the Republican speaker reneged on their original bipartisan deal.
“Welcome back to the Maga Swamp,” Jeffrey posted.
The top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, Rep. Rosa DeLauro said it appeared that Musk, an unelected official and the richest man in the world, was calling the shots for Trump and Republicans.
“Who’s in charge?” she asked during the debate.
Still, the White House backed the final bill, and Democrats held 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 strength but also the limits of his dominance with Congress, as he orchestrates the Mar-a-Lago affair with meddling and masks, who are leading the incoming administration’s new department. Government efficiency.
“If there’s going to be a government shutdown, let’s start it now,” Trump posted on social media early in the morning.
While Johnson and lawmakers see a federal shutdown as a political loser that harms Americans’ livelihoods, Trump has no fear of a government shutdown. The incoming Trump administration has promised to cut the federal budget and lay off thousands of employees. Trump himself instigated the longest government shutdown in history during his first term in the White House, a month-long shutdown over the 2018-19 Christmas holiday and New Year’s period.
More important to the president-elect was pushing the thorny debt ceiling debate off the table before he returns to the White House. The federal debt ceiling expires on January 1, and Trump does not want to saddle the first months of his new administration with tough negotiations in Congress to raise the nation’s borrowing capacity. That gives Democrats, who will be in the minority next year.
“Congress must get rid of, or possibly extend, the ridiculous debt ceiling by 2029,” Trump posted — now upping his demand for a five-year debt ceiling increase. “Without it, we should never have made a deal.”
Johnson initially tried to satisfy Trump’s demands but eventually had to work around them.
Trump and Musk trotted out their opponents and social media troops on the original plan Johnson presented, a 1,500-page bipartisan deal he struck with Democrats that included disaster aid for hard-hit states, but did not address debt. – Ceiling position.
A second Trump-backed plan, Thursday’s slimmed-down 116-page bill extending his favored two-year debt limit to 2027, failed in a landslide, dismissed by many Democrats as an unrealistic effort — but also rejected by conservative Republicans. Drowning in the nation’s red ink