House rejects government funding bill endorsed by Trump
The House rejected President-elect Donald Trump's new plan Thursday to fund federal operations and suspend the debt ceiling a day before a government shutdown, as Democrats refused to accommodate his sudden demands and the quick fix cobbled together by Republican leaders.
The outcome proved a massive setback for Trump and his billionaire ally, Elon Musk, who rampaged against Johnson's bipartisan compromise, which Republicans and Democrats had reached earlier to prevent a Christmastime government shutdown.
The bill failed by a vote of 174-235.
File: Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) speaks during a news conference on the proposed continuing resolution to extend government funding on Capitol Hill on December 18, 2024. (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Trump endorsed the plan
Trump announced "SUCCESS in Washington!" in coming up with the new package which would keep government running for three more months, add $100.4 billion in disaster assistance including for hurricane-hit states, and allow more borrowing through Jan. 30, 2027.
"Speaker Mike Johnson and the House have come to a very good Deal," Trump posted.
All day, Johnson had been fighting to figure out how to meet Trump's sudden demands — and keep his own job — while federal offices are being told to prepare to shutter operations.
The new proposal whittled the 1,500-page bill to 116 pages and drops a number of add-ons — notably the first pay raise for lawmakers in more than a decade, which could have allowed as much as a 3.8% bump. That drew particular scorn as Musk turned his social media army against the bill.
Trump said early Thursday that Johnson will "easily remain speaker" for the next Congress if he "acts decisively and tough" in coming up with a new plan to also raise the debt limit, a stunning request just before the Christmas holidays that has put the beleaguered speaker in a bind.
And if not, the president-elect warned of trouble ahead for Johnson and Republicans in Congress.
"Anybody that supports a bill that doesn’t take care of the Democrat quicksand known as the debt ceiling should be primaried and disposed of as quickly as possible," Trump told Fox News Digital.
What was the deal?
The bill included aid for farmers and roughly $110 billion in disaster relief funding for Americans affected by storms Helene and Milton.
The slimmed-down package included federal funds to rebuild Baltimore’s collapsed Key Bridge, but dropped a separate land transfer that could have paved the way for a new Washington Commanders football stadium.
But it abandoned a long list of other bipartisan bills that had support as lawmakers in both parties try to wrap up work for the year. It extends government funds through March 14.
Federal funding is scheduled to expire at midnight Friday as a current temporary government funding bill runs out.