House Republicans reach scaled-back stopgap deal
By Thérèse Boudreaux
The Center Square
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., introduced a new stopgap plan late Thursday afternoon after consulting with members of President-elect Donald Trump’s team earlier in the day – with a partial government shutdown looming late Friday.
The Republican-controlled House could vote on the package as early as Thursday evening.
The scramble came after a much larger and more expensive Continuing Resolution effectively died this week when Trump came out against it, criticizing its new spending.
Though not an omnibus bill, many Republicans as well as Trump advisors Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy called the first 1,547-page CR a “Christmas Cramnibus,” condemning the plethora of wishlist items that would have added billions more dollars in spending than is necessary to keep the government running until March 14.
The nail in the CR coffin arrived when Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance issued a joint statement demanding that Johnson craft a new stopgap without the numerous concessions made to Democrats–even if that means raising the debt ceiling.
“[W]e should pass a streamlined spending bill that doesn’t give [Sen.] Chuck Schumer and the Democrats everything they want,” the statement said. “Republicans want to support our farmers, pay for disaster relief, and set our country up for success in 2025. The only way to do that is with a temporary funding bill WITHOUT DEMOCRAT GIVEAWAYS combined with an increase in the debt ceiling.”
Facing heat from both sides, Johnson fast-tracked the trimmed down CR that includes $100 billion in disaster funding requested by Democrats and an extension of farm relief funding requested by Republicans. It also seeks to extend the nation's debt ceiling.
Even if Johnson manages to craft the new stopgap through the Republican-controlled House, Democrats in the Senate may be unwilling to vote for a bill that excludes all their hard-won wishlist items, though some, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., have expressed interest in terminating the debt limit entirely.
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