House Republican leaders are working on a backup plan after an initial bipartisan agreement to avoid a partial government shutdown on Friday was crushed by an avalanche of conservative opponents.
The bill angered conservatives in both houses of Congress, as well as Elon Musk, whom President-elect Trump has named as co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
President Trump's transition team issued a public joint statement opposing the first iteration of the deal by Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, as Musk called on lawmakers who supported the bill to lose their seats. .
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) acknowledged to reporters as he left the Capitol on Wednesday night that a deal had fallen through.
“There's still a lot of negotiations and conversations going on, but there's no new agreement,” Scalise said. He said he did not speak to President Trump “directly” throughout the day.
The bill was scheduled to be voted on Wednesday afternoon, but the scheduled late afternoon vote was canceled. Instead, less than 24 hours after the bill was announced, Republican leaders are huddled in the speaker's office to chart a path forward.
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“A new CR will probably be announced tomorrow,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) told reporters as she left Johnson's office early in the evening. “We're negotiating right now. But There will be no vote tonight.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (left) and Elon Musk are at odds over the government spending bill. (Jean Katuf/GC Images/Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) told reporters a short time later that he expected CR to be “lean” without disaster relief or farm subsidies.
This came after Republican critics of the spending bill spent much of the day attacking Johnson's handling of the issue.
The 1,547-page bill is a short-term extension of government funding levels for fiscal year 2024 aimed at giving lawmakers more time to agree on funding for the remainder of fiscal year 2025 by a Friday deadline. It is.
This is the second such extension, known as a continuing resolution (CR), since fiscal year 2024 ended on September 30.
In addition to funding the government through March 14, the bill includes more than $100 billion in disaster relief to help Americans affected by hurricanes Milton and Helen. There is. It includes $10 billion in economic relief for farmers, as well as health care reform measures and provisions aimed at revitalizing Washington, D.C.'s RFK Stadium and surrounding campus.
Members of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus said they felt blindsided by unrelated policy riders added to the bill in last-minute negotiations.
Several Republicans, who were granted anonymity to speak freely, said Mr. Johnson would contest a challenge to his chairmanship in early January over the issue.
But Johnson defended the deal on “Fox & Friends” Wednesday morning.
President-elect Trump opposes the bill (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“When a new Congress begins in January with Republicans in power…we will be able to reduce the size and scope of government. But before we get to that point, remember now: We only control half of it.'' Remember, Democrats still control the Senate and the White House, which is one-third of the federal government. So what we have done here is a conservative play,” he said.
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Opponents of the bill include Elon Musk, who posted on
He then called on Republicans to take advantage of the partial government shutdown.
“'Shut down' the government (without actually shutting down any essential functions, by the way) is much better than passing horrible legislation,” he suggested.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance called on Republicans to reject the deal and instead opt for a CR combined with an increase in the U.S. debt ceiling that would be suspended until January 2025.
“Raising the debt ceiling is not a great thing, but we would rather do it on Biden's watch. If Democrats don't cooperate on the debt ceiling now, who will raise the debt ceiling in June under our administration? Think: Let's start this discussion now and pass a streamlined spending bill that doesn't give Chuck Schumer and the Democrats everything they want,” the statement said.
Trump later said on Truth Social that Republicans who support CR without raising the debt ceiling deserve a primary.
Mr. Scalise indicated he was considering it, but did not intend to be involved in any plans.
He said: “We have been in discussions regarding debt limitations related to CR and these discussions are still ongoing.”
But bowing to the right flank may not be enough to get Mr Johnson out of the woods, and Democrats have warned him not to renege on the deal.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has warned Mr Johnson not to break the deal. (Getty Images)
“House Republicans were ordered to shut down the government and hurt the working class Americans they claim to support. You are responsible,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D.N.Y.) wrote. X.
Mr. Johnson was always likely to need Democratic support to pass CR, given the narrow margins in the House and widespread opposition to short-term funding extensions within the Republican Party.
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But it's unclear whether the number of Democrats willing to break ranks will offset Republican opposition.
House leaders will also have to decide whether to consider the bill in the regular order, which would require a vote in the House Rules Committee followed by the full House before lawmakers can consider the bill itself. Includes procedural votes. Or they could bypass that and rush the bill to the House in exchange for raising the threshold for passage to two-thirds rather than a simple majority.
Meanwhile, the clock continues to tick until the deadline for a partial government shutdown at the end of Friday.
