U.S. House approves funding bill, sends to Senate hours before shutdown deadline

On August 6, 2022, the US Capitol is pictured on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Source: Getty Images/Anna Rose Layden))

Washington (AP)—Speaker Mike Johnson’s new plan, which would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster help, was passed by the House late Friday, only hours before a midnight government shutdown. However, it does not include President-elect Donald Trump’s request for a rise in the debt limit until the new year.

Congress would “meet our obligations” and prevent federal functions from closing before the Christmas break, Johnson said. The conclusion of the day was unclear, however, as Trump reiterated his demand that any agreement include a raise in the debt ceiling; if not, he stated in an early-morning post, let the closures “start now.”

After being approved 366–34, the bill will now move on to the Senate for its anticipated swift passage.

Prior to the vote, Johnson declared, “We will not have a government shutdown,”

It was the third time that struggling House Speaker Johnson had tried to fulfill one of the federal government’s fundamental needs: maintaining its operations.

It also brought up serious concerns about Johnson’s ability to continue working with Trump and his billionaire supporter Elon Musk, who have urged for legislative action this time, despite his irate GOP colleagues.

Johnson was essentially forced to circumvent Trump’s insistence for a rise in the debt ceiling because his last-minute demand was nearly difficult to fulfill. The speaker was aware that the GOP majority would not accept any financing agreement since many Republicans would rather cut back on the federal government than take on more debt.

With their ambitious promises for tax cuts and other goals, the Republicans, who will have complete control of the White House, House, and Senate next year, are instead demonstrating that they frequently need to rely on Democrats for the votes they need to continue running the government.

Before the vote, Musk mockingly posted on social media, “So is this a Republican bill or a Democrat bill?”

The new 118-page package would provide $10 billion in agricultural support to farmers and $100 billion in disaster help, while maintaining the government’s current level of funding through March.

Trump’s demand to raise the debt ceiling, which GOP leaders said will be discussed in their tax and border packages in the coming year, is no longer there. At that time, Republicans reached a so-called “handshake” agreement to increase the debt ceiling while also reducing expenditure by $2.5 trillion over a ten-year period.

With the exception of Trump’s demand for a debt ceiling, it is essentially the same proposal that failed spectacularly the previous evening and was opposed by the majority of Democrats and some of the most conservative Republicans.

Johnson was contacted by Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, but since the Republican speaker broke their initial bipartisan agreement, Democrats were unimpressed with the most recent attempt.

“Welcome back to the MAGA swamp,” Jeffries wrote on social media.

The top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, said it appeared like Musk, the richest man in the world and an unelected official, was making decisions for Trump and the Republicans.

During the argument, she questioned, “Who is in charge?”

Nevertheless, the majority of Democrats supported the bill’s passing.

As he steps in and manages affairs from Mar-a-Lago with Musk, who is leading the incoming administration’s new Department of Government Efficiency, Trump, who has not yet been sworn into office, is demonstrating both the extent and the strength of his influence with Congress.

Trump said on social media early in the morning, “If there is going to be a government shutdown, let it begin now.”

Trump is not as afraid of government shutdowns as Johnson and the senators are, who view them as political failures that negatively impact Americans’ quality of life.

The Trump administration promises to lay off thousands of workers and cut the government budget.

between his first term in office, Trump himself initiated the longest government shutdown in history, which lasted for months between the 2018–19 Christmas and New Year holidays.

The president-elect’s demand that the contentious debt ceiling issue be put to rest before he returns to the White House was more significant.

Trump doesn’t want the first few months of his new administration to be hampered by difficult congressional negotiations to increase the country’s borrowing capacity when the federal debt limit expires on January 1.

It provides leverage to Democrats, who will be in the minority next year.

Trump’s statement, “Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous Debt Ceiling,” reaffirmed his call for a five-year rise in the debt ceiling. “Without this, we should never make a deal.”

Johnson had to compromise after first attempting to satisfy Trump’s expectations.The previous plan Johnson offered, a 1,500-page bipartisan compromise he reached with Democrats that contained disaster funding for hard-hit states but did not address the debt ceiling crisis, was met with fierce resistance from Trump and Musk, as well as a social media army.

A second option, sponsored by Trump, was a slimmed-down 116-page package that included his proposed two-year debt limit extension into 2027. It was rejected by conservative Republicans who do not want to add to the nation’s debt, as well as by the majority of Democrats, who saw it as an insincere attempt.

Russ Vought, Trump’s choice to be the next director of the Office of Management and Budget, and vice president-elect JD Vance came early Friday morning to the Capitol speaker’s office, where Johnson was meeting with a handful of hardline House Freedom Caucus holdouts.

Later, Republican Rep. Ralph Norman recounted, Johnson called for a show of hands as they decided on the next course of action during the House Republicans’ luncheon in the Capitol basement.

Workers in the government have already been warned to get ready for a federal shutdown that would leave millions of workers—including military personnel—without pay for the holiday season.In his last weeks in office, President Joe Biden has been less visible in the discussion, which has drawn criticism from Trump and Republicans who are attempting to place the burden for any shutdown on him.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday that Biden has been in talks with Jeffries and Schumer.

However, she stated: “This deal was blown up by Republicans.” They must make this right because they did.The original agreement was described by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as “the quickest, simplest, and easiest way we can make sure the government stays open while delivering critical emergency aid to the American people.”

In order to retain the gavel, Johnson will need the backing of nearly every House Republican in his razor-thin majority. The election of the speaker is the first vote of the new Congress, which meets on January 3. Jeffries will receive Democratic votes.

The speaker’s danger was evident as he twisted in Washington. Trump ally Steve Bannon enraged hundreds of people late Thursday with a scathing attack on the Louisiana Republican at Turning Point USA’s conservative AmericaFest conference.

Johnson is obviously unqualified for the job. “He has to leave,” Bannon remarked, eliciting applause. At the reply, he tilted his head and grinned, saying, “President Trump? They are your people.___This report was written by Bill Barrow, Darlene Superville, Mary Clare Jalonick, Stephen Groves, and Kevin Freking of the Associated Press.

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