Kumar Bahukhandi
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks to reporters after passing the funding bill to avert the government shutdown at the Capitol in Washington (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Washington: Hours to go before a midnight government shutdown, the House approved a new plan late Friday December 20 , 2024 from Speaker Mike Johnson that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, but drops President-elect Donald Trump’s demands for a debt limit increase into the new year.
Johnson insisted Congress would “meet our obligations” and not allow federal operations to shutter ahead of the Christmas holiday season. But the day’s outcome was uncertain after Trump doubled down on his insistence that a debt ceiling increase be included in any deal — if not, he said in an early morning post, let the closures “start now”.
The bill was approved 366-34, and now goes to the Senate, for expected quick passage.
“We are excited about this outcome,” Johnson said afterward, adding he had spoken with Trump and the president-elect “was certainly happy about this outcome, as well”.
It was the third attempt from Johnson, the beleaguered House speaker, to achieve one of the basic requirements of the federal government — keeping it open. And it raised stark questions about whether Johnson will be able to keep his job, in the face of angry GOP colleagues, and work alongside Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk, who have called the legislative plays this time.
Trump’s last-minute demand was almost an impossible ask, and Johnson had almost no choice but to work around his pressure for a debt ceiling increase. The speaker knew there would not be enough support within the GOP majority to pass any funding package, since many Republicans prefer to slash federal government and certainly would not allow more debt
Instead, the 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 they must routinely rely on Democrats for the votes needed to keep up with the routine operations of governing.
“So is this a Republican bill or a Democrat bill?” scoffed Musk on social media ahead of the vote.
The new 118-page package would fund the government at current levels through March and adds USD 100 billion in disaster aid and USD 10 billion in agricultural assistance to farmers.
Gone is Trump’s demand to lift the debt ceiling, which GOP leaders told lawmakers would be debated as part of their tax and border packages in the new year. Republicans made a so-called handshake agreement to raise the debt limit at that time while also cutting USD 2.5 trillion in spending over 10 years.
It is essentially the same deal that flopped the night before in a spectacular setback — opposed by most Democrats and some of the most conservative Republicans — minus Trump’s debt ceiling demand.
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries was in contact with Johnson, but Democrats were cool to the latest effort after the Republican speaker reneged on their original bipartisan compromise.
“Welcome back to the MAGA swamp,” Jeffries posted.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said it looked like Musk, an unelected official and the wealthiest man in the world, was calling the shots for Trump and the Republicans.
“Who is in charge?” she asked during the debate.
Still, the White House supported the final bill, and Democrats put up more votes than Republicans for its passage. Almost three dozen Republicans voted against it.
Trump, who has not yet been sworn into office, is showing the power but also the limits of his sway with Congress, as he intervenes and orchestrates affairs from Mar-a-Lago alongside Musk, who is heading up the incoming administration’s new Department of Government Efficiency.
“If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now,” Trump posted early in the morning on social media.
Trump does not fear government shutdowns the way Johnson and the lawmakers see federal closures as political losers that harm the livelihoods of Americans. The incoming Trump administration vows to slash the federal budget and fire thousands of employees. Trump himself sparked the longest government shutdown in history in his first term at the White House, the monthlong closures over the 2018-19 Christmas holiday and New Year period.
More importantly for the president-elect was his demand for pushing the thorny debt ceiling debate off the table before he returns to the White House. The federal debt limit expires on January 1, and Trump does not want the first months of his new administration saddled with tough negotiations in Congress to lift the nation’s borrowing capacity. It gives Democrats, who will be in the minority next year, leverage.
“Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous Debt Ceiling,” Trump posted — increasing his demand for a now five-year debt limit increase. “Without this, we should never make a deal.”
Johnson had tried at first to appease Trump’s demands, but ultimately had to work around them.
Trump and Musk unleashed their opposition — and social media army — on the original plan Johnson presented, which was a 1,500-page bipartisan compromise he struck with Democrats that included the disaster aid for hard-hit states, but did not address the debt-ceiling situation.
A Trump-backed second plan, Thursday’s slimmed-down 116-page bill with his preferred two-year debt limit increase into 2027, failed in a monumental defeat, rejected by most Democrats as an unserious effort — but also by conservative Republicans who refuse to pile on the nation’s red ink.
(Source AP )
