House Scrambling as Government Shutdown Approaches
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House Speaker Mike Johnson strategized Dec. 20 with lieutenants on how to rush a spending bill through the chamber ahead of a midnight US government shutdown deadline after legislation backed by President-elect Donald Trump failed Dec. 19.
The last-minute haggling over details, which were not yet finalized, came as Trump adviser Elon Musk continued to threaten a government shutdown if the incoming administration did not get what it wants out of the House Republican majority.
“Either the government should pass sensible bills that actually serve the people or shut it down!” Musk posted on his social media platform X.
House Republicans met privately the afternoon of Dec. 20, but conservatives, including Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, said there had been no decision yet on a path forward. With just hours to go before the deadline, Florida Representative Mario Diaz-Balart said a shutdown could still be averted.
“It’s all over, but the cussing and the fighting,” outgoing Representative Patrick McHenry of North Carolina said.
Either the government should pass sensible bills that actually serve the people or shut it down! https://t.co/DxHyycW4jo — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 20, 2024
One of the plans floated at the meeting would divide the legislation into various chunks — a continuing resolution extending funding to March 14, disaster relief, and aid to farmers, a person in the room said. Doing so would allow lawmakers to pick and choose the parts they support but likely would keep the House in Washington until Dec. 21.
The second option, this person said, is to expedite a vote continuing government funding, requiring a two-thirds majority, and leave Washington on Dec. 20. That would likely delay scuttle farm and disaster aid until the new year.
The U.S. government moved ahead with shutdown preparations on Dec. 20, notifying federal workers they might be furloughed, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
📺 @PressSec @K_JeanPierre delivers a sharp takedown of the Republican circus, exposing their dysfunction and chaos for what it is:
"They blew up this deal. They need to fix it. Stop playing politics with a government shutdown and prioritize hardworking Americans over… pic.twitter.com/ypJwA87lGc — Chris D. Jackson (@ChrisDJackson) December 20, 2024
Democrats had been locked out of negotiations since Trump sunk a bipartisan deal earlier this week. But House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries told colleagues that he’s been in talks with Johnson.
“The lines of communication have been reopened,” Jeffries said.
South Carolina Republican Ralph Norman, who voted against the Trump-backed bill, emerged from Johnson’s office Dec. 20 saying he expects the bill to go to the powerful Rules Committee, the first stop for legislation that requires a simple majority. Norman, who sits on the panel, would not discuss details.
Representative Thomas Massie, another Rules panel Republican who opposed the Dec. 19 bill, dodged reporters’ questions.
“For the first time in my life, I have nothing to say,” he said.
The full House could vote Dec. 20 on the plan. It’s still uncertain whether Johnson can secure the necessary votes.
The new interim funding package is the third proposal Johnson has put forward to avert a shutdown, set for midnight Dec. 20. Democrats and 38 Republicans late Dec. 19 voted down a different measure backed by President-elect Donald Trump. Conservatives objected to a provision suspending the US national debt limit for two years that Trump demanded at the last minute.
That failure put a spotlight on the limits of Trump’s power over a sharply divided Congress, despite Republicans impending control of both chambers next year. Fissures within the Republican ranks threaten to undermine Trump’s ability to impose his will.
Johnson was forced to withdraw an initial package to fund the government through March that had been negotiated with Democrats after Trump and Elon Musk came out against it on Dec. 18.
House Democratic leaders have made it clear they do not intend to help Republicans raise or waive the national debt limit without concessions, arguing the GOP intends to use the leeway for tax cuts benefiting the wealthy and corporations.
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Fox News reported Johnson’s new plan could keep the government open through the holidays, but added the size of the package and details of how long the funding would last were unknown.
Trump maintained his pressure campaign on Republicans the morning of Dec. 20, insisting that any government shutdown that started before his term would be blamed on Democrats.
“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!,” he wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Billy House, Steven T. Dennis and Ari Natter contributed to this report.
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