Washington Congress's path to government funding is in limbo after House Republicans Support for Elon Musk and newly elected President Donald Trump, Torpedoed an initial deal To avert a shutdown before the Friday night deadline.
The House descended into chaos Wednesday when a GOP insurrection thwarted a last-minute funding measure meant to keep the government running until early next year.
There was immediate anger among conservatives when massive year-end spending legislation was unveiled late Tuesday. Texas GOP Representative Chip Roy referred to it on Twitter as a “1,547-page Christmas tree”, while Florida Republican Representative Kat Cammack called it “a Band-Aid laced with fentanyl”.
The more than 1,500-page bill released Tuesday was far from a modest stopgap measure. In addition to extending government funding through March 14, it included other provisions including disaster aid, health care policy extenders, and pay increases for members of Congress. The disaster relief portion of the bill came with a $110 billion price tag.
Elon Musk, co-head of the government efficiency division of Trump's advisory body, made several posts on Wednesday calling the bill “criminal” and suggesting that the Republicans who supported it should not have been in Congress. And the protests culminated in Trump's statements criticizing the new spending and threatening a primary challenge against any Republican who supported the measure.
The president-elect called on Republicans to eliminate excess spending and instead added a new element: raising the debt ceiling. The debt ceiling, which limits how much the government can borrow to pay its bills, is suspended until the first quarter of next year, but Trump said he would force President Biden to approve raising the debt ceiling. Would love to do so that they don't have to do that. To sign it.
“I will fight to the end,” Trump wrote.
Top House Republicans met Wednesday night after an initial compromise collapsed, but a new path forward remained unclear Thursday morning as Congress headed toward a Friday night deadline to fund the government.
Although eliminating most of the additional funding would satisfy many Republicans, Johnson is likely to need dozens of votes from Democrats, and some are already criticizing Johnson for walking away from the deal. He argues that Republicans would bear any blame for a potential shutdown.
Democrats met in a caucus meeting Thursday morning. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he is “committed to standing up for the best interests of the American people”, while criticizing House Republicans, saying they “blasted” the bipartisan agreement because they wanted to “shut down the government.” Have been ordered to do so.” ,
Jefferies said, “We are ready to move forward with a bipartisan agreement that we thought was negotiated in good faith with Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans, as well as House Republicans, who are working with the American people at this time.” Meets the needs of.” “We are fighting for the everyday Americans who would be hurt by a reckless Republican shutdown.”
Jeffries said a shutdown could be avoided “if House Republicans do what's right for the American people” by sticking to the bipartisan agreement. The minority leader underlined that he and the Speaker are maintaining an “open line of communication” to see if they can “resolve this issue.” Jefferies called the debt ceiling issue and discussion “premature.”
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Battle spending threatens Johnson's speech
The initial plan to keep the government funded and the chaos that surrounded it prompted intense criticism of Johnson, including from members of his own party.
Conservatives are angry at Johnson for moving the negotiation process largely beyond the reach of ordinary members, in addition to several additions to the spending bill. Missouri Republican Representative Eric Burlison called the process “a complete dumpster fire.”
A handful of Republicans indicated that their support for Johnson's speech in the new Congress was now in question, and with such a slim majority, it would only take a small number of votes to remove him. Kentucky Republican Representative Thomas Massie said clearly on Wednesday that he would not support Johnson in the election for speaker.
“I'm not voting for him,” Massey said. “It solidifies it.”
In November, House Republicans endorsed Johnson to lead for the next two years during their leadership elections. But the full House will vote to elect the speaker on January 3. During the last speaker battle at the start of the new Congress in 2023, the weakened Republican majority took 15 rounds to elect former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted from the role. Nine months later, partly due to his management of government funding.
Nevertheless, Johnson generally enjoys more support than McCarthy, a president-elect who wields widespread influence over House Republicans. trump told Fox News Digital On Thursday that Johnson would “easily remain speaker” if he “acts decisively and tough” and eliminates “all the traps that the Democrats are setting” in the spending package.