1 of 3 | Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks to press while house members vote on his spending bill to avoid a possible shutdown in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. Johnson told reporters that he expects another vote on government spending Friday morning. Photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI | License Photo
House Speaker Mike Johnson expects another vote on stopgap funding to avert a government shutdown on Friday morning.
The clock is ticking on a government shutdown after House Republicans failed to pass a stopgap funding bill late Thursday. Speaking to reporters early Friday, Johnson, R-La., said “we’ve got a plan.” Advertisement
Congress has until midnight to pass a government funding bill and avoid a government shutdown through the holiday season.
A government spending bill requires two-thirds support from the House. Thursday’s bill was voted down by a count of 174-235, with 38 Republicans voting against it along with all but two Democrats.
Thursday’s bill had the support of President-elect Donald Trump and his adviser Elon Musk.
Musk vehemently opposed a bipartisan spending bill that included $100 billion for disaster relief and support for farmers on Wednesday, urging Republicans to “kill the bill.” He unleashed dozens of posts on X pressuring Republicans to reject the bill that would have funded the government into March. Advertisement
Several Republicans who voted against the bill have drawn Trump’s frustration, including Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas. Trump threatened on social media that Republicans who oppose him on the spending bill will be voted out in primary elections.
Roy said Thursday that he is “happy to take the fire.”
The bill that Musk and Trump supported removed $190 million for child cancer research from its predecessor.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is calling on Johnson to resurrect the bipartisan spending bill that Musk, and later Trump, shot down, Nicholas Wu of Politico reported.
“The best path forward is the bipartisan agreement that was reached between House Republicans, House Democrats, Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats,” Jeffries told reporters.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a press briefing Friday that President Joe Biden has spoken with lawmakers from both parties and hopes to see the bipartisan agreement return to the table and pass.
“Republicans blew up this deal. And they need to fix this,” said Jean-Pierre. “Congressional Republicans, at the direction of President-elect Trump and Elon Musk, are trying to pave the way for adding $5 trillion to our national debt. You’re talking about tax cuts for billionaires, slashing social security, slashing Medicare. Advertisement
Jean-Pierre added that government agencies began notifying employees of potential furloughs on Friday at about noon, responding to a question about whether government employees will receive paychecks over the holidays or not.
“We believe there is still time for Congress to avoid a partial shutdown,” she said.
Meanwhile, Trump is encouraging Republicans to shut the government down while President Joe Biden is in office, not after he assumes office.
“If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now, under the Biden Administration, not after Jan. 20, under ‘TRUMP,'” Trump posted on Truth Social. “This is a Biden problem to solve, but if Republicans can help solve it, they will!”
Trump also called on Congress to suspend the debt ceiling until at least 2029, after his term ends.
The division among House Republicans has been a fixture of the 118th Congress. It undid former Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s time as House speaker as he led one of the most ineffective Congressional Assemblies in nearly a century.
The last time Congress passed a budget was Dec. 27, 2020, when Democrats had a majority in the U.S. House. Republicans had a majority in the U.S. Senate. Advertisement
