TRUMP BLOWS UP “RIDICULOUS” FEDERAL SPENDING DEAL AS SHUTDOWN LOOMS
Yesterday (12/17), House Republican leaders were struggling to cobble together support within their party for a bipartisan stopgap federal spending bill on when, last night at 9:28pm, President-elect Donald Trump weighed in hard against it and imploded the deal.
In a joint statement on X (full text below) with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, Mr. Trump trashed the 1,500-plus-page legislation that would fund the government until March 14.
The two men called on Republican leaders to reject it and renegotiate a “clean” measure with Democrats that would eliminate a trove of spending and policy extras
Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance told lawmakers to debate an increase in the nation’s debt ceiling, the current suspension of which is set to expire after January, to avoid fighting around lifting the borrowing limit when Mr. Trump takes office.
Congress, now back to the drawing board, faces a Friday deadline to pass a stopgap bill to keep the federal government from shuttering.
“Republicans must get smart and tough. If Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, THEN CALL THEIR BLUFF,” Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance posted, with several words capitalized for Trumpian emphasis.
The president-elect’s kiss of death capped a day of anger on Capitol Hill. Republicans pored over the bill’s language and discovered spending and policy provisions that left them outraged.
The fury expanded on social media, where Mr. Trump’s government efficiency advisers, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, denounced the spending bill.
“It’s full of excessive spending, special interest giveaways & pork barrel politics,” Mr. Ramaswamy posted on X.
Mr. Musk called the bill “outrageous” and said any lawmaker who votes for it “deserves to be voted out in 2 years!”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, who hoped to “clear the runway” for Mr. Trump by passing the bill, was forced to abandon plans to bring it to the House floor this week.
“We are looking at a number of options,” said Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Louisiana Republican.
Mr. Johnson retreated to his office late in the day as some Republicans seething over the contents of the bill threatened to block his reelection to the speaker’s chair in January.
In addition to funding the government, it included $10 billion in aid to farmers and $100 billion in disaster relief for victims of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
It was also loaded with spending and sweetheart deals for Democrats, including a legal shield for members of the committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Mr. Trump and other Republicans said the committee should be investigated.
The measure also enabled a pay increase for lawmakers, the first in 15 years. The bill would have allowed a 3.8% increase for lawmakers, most of whom earn $174,000 annually.
Another provision would have exempted lawmakers from purchasing insurance on the Obamacare marketplace and instead allowed them to enroll in the gold-plated Federal Employee Health Benefits program.
Fingerprints of liberal lawmakers were found throughout the bill.
One provision called for removing the word “offender” from a federal workforce development program and substituting the term “justice-involved individual.”
Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance frowned on the congressional pay raises, which they said would have been given “while many Americans are struggling this Christmas.”
House Democrat leaders were unhappy about having to renegotiate the spending deal.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, New York Democrat, told reporters that “an agreement is an agreement” and said Republicans would “own the consequences” of a government shutdown.
The spending mess caused a flurry of anger among Republicans, who targeted Mr. Johnson. He must have the support of nearly every Republican lawmaker if he is to retain the speaker’s gavel when the next Congress convenes on Jan. 3.
His future as the top Republican now appears shaky as the Republicans watched to see whether he would devise a plan that could win the backing of conservatives and Mr. Trump.
Rep. Andrew Ogles of Tennessee floated names of other Republican lawmakers who could serve as speaker next year. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky said he planned to vote for someone other than Mr. Johnson.
A statement from President Donald J. Trump and Vice President-Elect JD Vance:
The most foolish and inept thing ever done by Congressional Republicans was allowing our country to hit the debt ceiling in 2025. It was a mistake and is now something that must be addressed.
Meanwhile, Congress is considering a spending bill that would give sweetheart provisions for government censors and for Liz Cheney. The bill would make it easier to hide the records of the corrupt January 6 committee—which accomplished nothing for the American people and hid security failures that happened that day.
This bill would also give Congress a pay increase while many Americans are struggling this Christmas. Increasing the debt ceiling is not great but we’d rather do it on Biden’s watch. If Democrats won’t cooperate on the debt ceiling now, what makes anyone think they would do it in June during our administration? Let’s have this debate now.
And we should pass a streamlined spending bill that doesn’t give Chuck Schumer and the Democrats everything they want. 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.
Anything else is a betrayal of our country. Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH. If Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, then CALL THEIR BLUFF. It is Schumer and Biden who are holding up aid to our farmers and disaster relief. THIS CHAOS WOULD NOT BE HAPPENING IF WE HAD A REAL PRESIDENT. WE WILL IN 32 DAYS!
9:28 PM · Dec 18, 2024
Susan Ferrechio has been writing about politics and national news for more than three decades, providing coverage through six presidents and eight House speakers.