The House shot down a new funding bill endorsed by President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday, marking the latest failed spending bill proposal this week as a potential government shutdown looms—which Trump suggested Friday he’s fine with.
Trump approved of the latest funding measure after opposing the last one. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty ... [+]
The House voted 235-174 against the bill, with 38 Republicans crossing the aisle and voting “no” alongside Democrats.
The new measure sought to maintain government funding until March 14 and suspend the debt ceiling for two years—a measure Trump demanded to be included in the bill.
Trump, who opposed the previous funding bill disputed by Congress early this week over the lack of a debt ceiling measure, lauded the new agreement in a Truth Social post, urging Republicans and Democrats to vote for the bill.
Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk blasted the previous funding bill backed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., with Trump saying it would “give sweetheart provisions for government censors” and provide Congress with a pay increase while “Americans are struggling.”
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In a post on his Truth Social platform on Friday, President-elect Donald Trump implied he is fine with a government shutdown as long as it doesn’t bleed into his own term. He wrote: “If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now, under the Biden Administration, not after January 20th, under ‘TRUMP.’ This is a Biden problem to solve, but if Republicans can help solve it, they will!”
Democrats said after finishing a closed-door meeting they were “united” in opposing the new bill, according to the Times. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters the “Musk-Johnson proposal is not serious” and called it “laughable,” provoking a response from Musk, who said he did not author the bill and that Democrats “deserve to lose bigtime in the midterms” if they turn reject it and a government shutdown materializes.
Presiding Rep. Marc Molinaro, R-N.Y., attempted to call the House to order before the vote and seemingly broke the gavel while slamming it repeatedly, prompting audible shocked reactions from the chamber.
If the new bill fails to pass by midnight Friday night, the government would partially shut down. In the event of a shutdown, Medicare applications could cease, hundreds of thousands of federal employees may be furloughed and the number of available air traffic controllers and TSA agents could drop, potentially creating travel delays during the holidays. However, essential services are expected to continue as they have during previous government shutdowns, when power grid maintenance, border protection and in-hospital medical care continued operations.
One of Trump’s main hangups with the previous proposal was rooted in the debt ceiling, which was not included in the deal from earlier this week. The president-elect has sought to suspend or outright eliminate the debt ceiling, which is adjusted to prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its debt. Several fiscally conservative Republicans have opposed raising the debt ceiling, according to The Wall Street Journal, though Trump recently blasted Republicans who pushed against changes to the debt ceiling, threatening them with primary challenges in the next election. Musk, who is one of Trump’s biggest backers, repeatedly criticized the previous spending bill in several posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday, saying it “should not pass” and was “one of the worst bills ever written.”
While Trump has not commented of the bill’s failure to pass, he reiterated his criticism about the debt ceiling in a Truth Social post saying: “Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous Debt Ceiling.” The president-elect noted that no deal should be made without this condition and added: “Remember, the pressure is on whoever is President.”
Trump Says He’s Against Johnson’s Government Funding Bill—Tells Republicans To ‘Get Smart And Tough’ (Forbes)
Musk Says Congressional Bill To Avert Government Shutdown ‘Should Not Pass’ (Forbes)