Stopgap Funding Bill Scrapped After Trump Opposes It

WASHINGTON—Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said on Wednesday night the massive stopgap funding bill put forward by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was scrapped after President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance came out in opposition to the bill.

“There is no new agreement right now,” Scalise told reporters, and lawmakers are “looking at a number of options.”

Johnson and congressional leadership on Dec. 17 released the $100 billion legislation that would keep the government open until March 14—called a continuing resolution (CR) in Washington-speak, hedging off a shutdown set to begin on Saturday at 12 a.m. ET. The proposal also incorporates a series of more controversial funding measures related to health, agriculture, emergency aid, and many others.

“The bill would make it easier to hide the records of the corrupt January 6 committee—which accomplished nothing for the American people and hid security failures that happened that day. This bill would also give Congress a pay increase while many Americans are struggling this Christmas,” the statement reads.

The joint statement includes an ultimatum for Republicans, calling on them to use the opportunity to raise the debt ceiling now rather than pushing the issue off until next year, when the current debt ceiling is expected to run out.

Related Stories

12/18/2024

12/18/2024

Democrats have historically been more likely to support debt ceiling increases, which are deeply unpopular with Republicans. If the issue is left until the next Congress, when Republicans will have a majority in both chambers, it could give Democrats leverage to force concessions from the Trump administration.

“All it will do … is bring the mess of the Debt Limit into the Trump Administration, rather than allowing it to take place in the Biden Administration. Any Republican that would be so stupid as to do this should, and will, be Primaried,” he wrote.

That creates a series of new headaches for Johnson and other congressional leaders, as lawmakers hoped to get government funding dealt with quickly before the upcoming winter recess, set to stretch through all of next week.

Compounding the difficulties, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has taken a hard stance against replacing the original agreement.

“House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government,” Jeffries said in a post on X. “You break the bipartisan agreement, you own the consequences that follow.”

That suggests Democrats are open to refusing any alternatives that are put forward.

Still, Trump’s opposition to the proposal all but guarantees that the bill—already facing strong GOP pushback—will be withdrawn, leaving the next steps unclear.

Negotiating a deal on the debt ceiling with just around 48 hours left until a shutdown would be a nearly impossible task even if Democrats were open to the idea—and given how much leverage the issue could give them over policy in the coming months, Democrats may not be willing to cooperate.

Divisions among Republicans, already visible prior to the release of the bill, only amplified after Elon Musk—a close ally of Trump—came out against the legislation.

Musk, who’s been selected to head up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a financial advisory board for the incoming Trump administration, waged a veritable online crusade against passage of the legislation.

“Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” the billionaire tech mogul said in a post on X.

He was joined in that opposition by Vivek Ramaswamy, who’s set to join him in leading the DOGE.

Johnson addressed some of these criticisms during a Dec. 18 appearance on “Fox and Friends,” saying he had spoken with Musk and Ramaswamy following the release of the package the previous day.

The two didn’t blame him for the situation, he said, and told him that they believed he was “in an impossible position.”

He recounted telling the two, “Remember, guys, we still have just a razor-thin margin of Republicans, so any bill has to have Democratic votes.”

“They understand the situation,“ Johnson said. ”[Ramaswamy] said, ‘It’s not directed to you, Mr. Speaker, but we don’t like the spending.’ I said, ‘Guess what, fellas, I don’t either.”

Still, Trump’s opposition means Johnson’s position has only become more difficult, as he’s unlikely to go against the president-elect’s wishes.

The next steps on the CR remain unclear, and Johnson has been silent since Trump spoke out against the plan.