WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump abruptly scrapped a bipartisan plan Wednesday to avert a Christmas government shutdown, and told House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans to essentially renegotiate it — days ahead of a deadline. when funding for the federal government budget expires.
President-elect Trump's sudden involvement in the debate and the new demands have put Congress back on the move as lawmakers scramble to wrap up their work and go home for the holiday break. That already forces Speaker Johnson to try to craft a new plan to keep the government open ahead of Friday's deadline.
"Republicans need to WAKE UP and GET TOUGH," President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance said in a statement.
The president-elect made a proposal that combined some continued government funding along with a far more controversial provision to raise the nation's debt limit — something his party regularly rejects. "Anything else is a betrayal of our country," they wrote.
Democrats criticized Republican rebellion over the government funding bill, which would have also provided about $100 billion in aid to states hit by hurricanes Helene and Milton and other natural disasters.
"House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government," House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said.
“And hurt the American working class that they claim to support. If you break the bilateral agreement, then you are responsible for the consequences."
The massive 1,500-page bill was on the brink of collapse after right-wing conservatives opposed the spending hike, pushed by President-elect Trump's billionaire ally Elon Musk, who shot down the plan almost as soon as it was released late Tuesday in evening.
Lawmakers complained about the extra spending — which includes their first pay raise in more than a decade, albeit with one of the most chaotic and unproductive sessions in modern times. A number of Republicans were waiting for the president-elect to signal whether they should vote yes or no.
Even adding much-needed disaster aid, about $100.4 billion for hurricanes and other natural disasters that ravaged states this year, plus $10 billion in economic aid for farmers, failed to win the share of Republicans seeking budget reduction.
"This must not pass," Mr Musk posted on his X social media network in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The result is not a surprise to Speaker Johnson, who like previous Republican House Speakers, has been unable to convince a majority of his party to meet the routine needs of federal government operations that they would prefer. to shorten them.
It all points to the difficulties Republicans will face next year, once they take control of the House of Representatives, the Senate and the White House. And it underscores how much Speaker Johnson and Republican leaders must depend on the president-elect's approval to pass legislative proposals.
"What does President Trump want Republicans to do: vote on temporary funding, or shut down the government? Absent direction, confusion reigns," former Republican senator Mitt Romney said in a post on the X network.
Mr. Musk, who will head the new Department of Government Efficiency, warned that lawmakers and senators who voted in favor of the government's interim funding bill would deserve to be voted out in two years.
Democrats, who negotiated the final document with Speaker Johnson and Senate Republican leaders, are expected to provide enough support to help Speaker Johnson secure passage, as is often the case with major funding bills. Funding for the federal government runs out at midnight on Friday.
"The sooner Congress acts, the better," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The final package extends existing government programs and services at their current operating levels for several more months, until March 14, 2025.
The temporary funding measure is necessary because Congress has failed to pass regular budgets for various agencies in the federal government, ranging from the Pentagon and national security agencies to health, welfare, transportation and other internal services. When the fiscal year ended on Sept. 30, Congress simply solved the problem by passing a temporary funding bill that expires Friday./VOA (A2 Televizion)
A2 CNN Livestream
MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
