US President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan on Wednesday to prevent a Christmas government shutdown, instead asking House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans to essentially renegotiate — days before a deadline when federal funding runs out.
Trump’s sudden entry into the debate and new demands have sent Congress into overdrive as lawmakers try to finish their work and go home for the holidays. It leaves Johnson scrambling to engineer a new plan before a Friday deadline to keep the government open.
“Republicans must be smart and tough,” Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance said in a statement.
The president-elect has put forth an almost unrealistic proposal that combines the same continuation of government funds alongside a more controversial provision to raise the country’s debt limit — something his party routinely rejects. “Anything else is a betrayal of our country,” they wrote.
Democrats decried the GOP revolt over the stopgap measure, which would also have provided about $100 billion in disaster aid to states hit by Hurricanes Helen and Milton and other natural disasters.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said: “House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government.”
“And they hurt the American working class they claim to support. “If you break the bipartisan agreement, you will bear the consequences that follow.”
Already, the massive 1,500-page bill was on the verge of collapse, as hard-right conservatives refused to increase spending, instigated by billionaire Trump ally Elon Musk, who rejected the plan as soon as it was released late Tuesday night.
Rank-and-file lawmakers have complained about the additional spending — which includes their first pay raise in more than a decade — a shock after one of the most chaotic, unproductive sessions in modern times. A number of Republicans were waiting for Trump to indicate whether they should vote yes or no.
Even adding in much-needed disaster aid — about $100.4 billion in the wake of hurricanes and other natural disasters that ravaged states this year, plus $10 billion in economic aid for farmers — failed to win over the budget-cutting GOP.
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“This should not pass by,” Musk posted on his social media site X in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The result was not surprising to Johnson, who, like other Republican House Speakers before him, was unable to convince his majority to approve the routine needs of federal government operations, which they would prefer to reduce.
All of this shows how difficult it will be for Republicans in the coming year, with control of the House, Senate and White House, to unite and lead the nation. This highlights how much Johnson and GOP leaders rely on Trump’s blessing to see any legislative package reach the finish line.
“What does President Trump want Republicans to do: vote for the Czech Republic or shut down the government? “In the absence of direction, confusion reigns,” retired Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said in a post on X.
Musk, who heads the new Department of Government Efficiency, warned, “Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this obscene spending bill deserves a vote on it in two years!”
It’s not an idle threat coming from Musk, the world’s richest man, who helped finance Trump’s victory and could easily use his political action committee in America to make or break a political career.
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland said that’s the problem with “the oligarchy, a handful of rich people running everything and everyone is supposed to live in fear of them; Their wealth becomes an instrument of coercive power over everything.
Democrats, who negotiated the final product with Johnson and Senate GOP leadership, are expected to provide enough support to help Johnson secure its passage, as is often the case with large bills. Federal government funding ends at midnight Friday.
“The faster Congress moves, the better,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
The final package extends current government programs and services at their current operating levels for a few more months, until March 14, 2025.
This stopgap measure is necessary because Congress has failed to pass annual appropriations bills to fund all the various agencies in the federal government, from the Pentagon and national security agencies, to health, welfare, transportation and other routine local services. When the fiscal year ended on September 30, Congress confronted the problem simply by passing a temporary funding bill that expires on Friday.
But the inch-thick bill goes beyond routine funding and addresses several other measures lawmakers are trying to push forward in order to pass before the end of this Congressional session, especially since some elected officials won’t be back in the new year.
Rep. Ana Paulina Luna, Republican of Florida, called it a junk sandwich, using an expletive. Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., said a lot of lawmakers are “a little disappointed with the way last week went.”
And then there is the salary increase.
Some lawmakers expressed concern that the bill eliminates a wage freeze provision that was included in the previous short-term spending measure. This change could allow the maximum wage to be adjusted by 3.8%, or $6,600, in 2025, bringing their annual salaries to $180,600, according to a Congressional Research Service report.
The last time members of Congress received a pay raise was in 2009, when the salary was increased by 2.8% to $174,000 annually. If members’ salaries had not been frozen since 2009, salaries would have amounted to approximately $217,900.
When adjusted for inflation, salaries fell by about 31% from 2009, the research report said.
“By what measure do we deserve a pay rise?” said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-C
Among other items in the package is full federal funding to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, which collapsed when it was struck by a cargo ship that reported losing power just before the accident. Federal taxpayers will be compensated through proceeds from insurance and litigation payments.
There is also a provision to transfer the land that is the site of the old RFK Stadium from the federal government to the District of Columbia, which could lead to a new stadium for the Washington Commanders.
On the health care front, the legislation seeks to expand coverage for telehealth appointments for Medicare enrollees and rein in the money that benefits pharmacy managers — companies that negotiate how insurance plans cover what drugs — that make those deals.
The bill also includes provisions focused on confronting China, including an expansion of President Joe Biden’s executive order that seeks to restrict investments in countries that pose a threat to U.S. national security. Blocking China’s high-tech ambitions is one of the few issues that enjoys widespread support in Washington from both Republicans and Democrats.
Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.
