Washington (AP) President-elect Donald Trump’s latest plan to suspend the debt ceiling and fund operations was overwhelmingly rejected by the House on Thursday, one day before a possible government shutdown, as Democrats and dozens of Republicans refused to caving in to his abrupt demands.
The lawmakers failed to achieve the two-thirds barrier required for passage in a hurriedly called evening vote that was laced with angry outbursts over the self-made crisis, but House Speaker Mike Johnson seemed determined to reconsider before Friday’s midnight deadline.
Following the vote, Johnson stated, “We’re going to regroup and we will come up with another solution, so stay tuned.” The bill failed 174-235, meaning the haphazardly put together plan failed to even secure a majority.
The result was a huge blow to Trump and his billionaire ally, Elon Musk, who attacked Johnson’s bipartisan agreement that Democrats and Republicans had previously agreed to avoid a government shutdown over Christmas.
When Trump comes to the White House with Republican control of the House and Senate, it offers a sneak peek of the chaos that lies ahead. Trump led Republicans to the longest government shutdown in history during the 2018 Christmas season during his first term. In 2020, he wrecked a bipartisan COVID-relief plan and forced a do-over, disrupting the holidays.
Trump declared success in Washington hours earlier Thursday when he unveiled the new proposal, which would extend government operations for three more months, provide $100.4 billion in disaster aid, including to states affected by hurricanes, and permit more borrowing until January 30, 2027.
Trump wrote, “The House and Speaker Mike Johnson have reached a very good deal.”
However, Republicans encountered a wall of opposition from Democrats who were not in a rush to accede to requests from Musk or Trump after spending a day essentially negotiating with themselves to remove the frills that conservatives hated and create the new plan.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries referred to the new agreement with Johnson as absurd and stated that Democrats were sticking with the prior one.
As he made his way to the Democrats’ private caucus meeting, Jeffries declared that the proposition was not serious. Democrats were yelling, “Hell, no!” inside.
While government offices are being instructed to get ready to shut down, Johnson has been battling all day to figure out how to accommodate Trump’s nearly impossible demands while maintaining his own job.
The 1,500-page bill was reduced to 116 pages by the new version, which also eliminated several add-ons, most notably the first pay increase for parliamentarians in over ten years, which could have resulted in a 3.8% increase. As Musk mobilized his social media army against the law, it garnered especially harsh criticism.
Trump’s shocking request just before the Christmas holidays put the beleaguered speaker in a difficult situation when he stated early Thursday that Johnson would easily be re-elected speaker for the next Congress provided he acts firm and decisive in coming up with a fresh plan to simultaneously lift the debt limit.
If not, Johnson and the Republicans in Congress would face difficulties, the president-elect warned.
Trump told Fox News Digital that anyone who backs a measure that doesn’t address the debt ceiling, a Democrat trap, should be eliminated as soon as possible.
A familiar reminder of what life is like in Trump-run Washington is triggered by the turbulent turn of events, which occurred just as lawmakers were getting ready to return home for the holidays.
Trump’s demands left Johnson, who is already dealing with his own issues ahead of a House vote on January 3 to continue as speaker, badly weakened. He was compelled to break his promise to Democrats and labor through the night to broker the new strategy.
Since the speaker does not have to be a member of Congress, Trump’s supporters even proposed the absurd idea of handing Musk the speaker’s gavel. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, stated that she was amenable to the concept.
Seeing this as a fitting conclusion to one of the most fruitless congressional sessions in recent memory, Democrats were inconsolable.
House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark described the damage a government shutdown would do to Americans, saying, “Here we are again in chaos.” For what purpose? Because Donald Trump agreed with Elon Musk, an unelected politician, when he declared, “We’re not doing this deal.”
“It’s time to return to the bipartisan agreement,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as he walked out of the Capitol.
As members pointed fingers at one another for the mess, the argument in the House chamber became heated.
The presiding representative, Rep. Marc Molinaro, once pounded the speaker’s gavel so hard that it broke.
The stakes are really high. Trump was brazenly betraying his opponents.
Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, a staunch Republican, angered Trump by refusing to support the plan. Roy responded by telling his fellow Republicans that they lacked self-respect for adding to the national debt.
It’s embarrassing! Standing on the Democratic side of the aisle and gesturing to his fellow Republicans, Roy thundered.
The trimmed-down deal did not contain a second property transfer that would have cleared the way for a new Washington Commanders football stadium, but it did include federal cash to replace Baltimore’s collapsed Key Bridge.
As politicians from both parties attempt to wrap up their work for the year, it abandons a lengthy list of other bipartisan bills that had support. Government funding is extended to March 14.
For Republicans who often vote against increased borrowing and want to cut government, adding an increase in the debt ceiling to what had been a bipartisan deal is a show-stopper. There were over thirty Republicans who voted against it.
Even before the president-elect takes office, Democrats seem to be in no negotiating condition to save Johnson from Trump, despite the fact that Sen. Elizabeth Warren had previously proposed proposals for lowering or even doing away with the debt ceiling caps.
Trump wants the issue resolved before he takes office, since the existing debt ceiling expires on January 1, 2025.
Musk took the lead in his recent political venture. GOP lawmakers received a barrage of phone calls urging them to oppose the idea, and the world’s richest man used his social media platform X to spread the anger.
The bipartisan bill’s failure, according to senior appropriator and Republican representative from Arkansas, Rep. Steve Womack, was a wonderful prelude to the 119th Congress and a sign of things to come.
According to one agency official, agencies had received preliminary information about potential shutdown plans last week from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.
___
By Kevin Freking and Lisa Mascaro
This report was written by Jill Colvin, Stephen Groves, Farnoush Amiri, and Matt Brown of the Associated Press.
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!