Trump shows his approval as Congress agrees deal to avoid government shutdown
19 December 2024, 21:54
Federal offices were being told to close for Christmas early as a bill to fund the US government was halted in its tracks by the president-elect.
President-elect Donald Trump announced “success” in coming up with a new plan to fund the US government and lift the debt ceiling a day before a government shutdown, urging Congress to swiftly pass it in votes as soon as Thursday evening.
Mr Trump’s social media post landed as Republicans said they had narrowed in on a tentative accord after gruelling closed-door talks.
The new plan would keep government running for three more months, add disaster assistance for hurricane-hit states and others, and allow more borrowing through January 30 2027, Republicans said.
“Success in Washington! Speaker Mike Johnson and the House have come to a very good Deal,” Mr Trump posted.
Next steps were highly uncertain, and it was particularly unclear if Democrats, whose votes would certainly be needed on any package in the face of hardline Republican opposition, were on board – or even brought into any negotiations.
A government shutdown at risk, Mr Johnson has been fighting to figure out how to meet Trump’s sudden demands – and keep his own job – while federal offices are being told to prepare to shutter operations ahead of Friday’s midnight deadline.
Mr Trump said early on Thursday that Mr Johnson will “easily remain speaker” for the next Congress if he “acts decisively and tough” in coming up with a new plan to also increase the debt limit, a stunning request just before the Christmas holidays that has put the beleaguered speaker in a bind.
And if not, the president-elect warned of trouble ahead for Mr Johnson and Republicans in Congress.
“Anybody that supports a bill that doesn’t take care of the Democrat quicksand known as the debt ceiling should be primaried and disposed of as quickly as possible,” Mr Trump told Fox News Digital.
The tumultuous turn of events, coming just before Friday’s midnight deadline to fund the government and as lawmakers were preparing to head home for the holidays, sparks a familiar reminder of what it is like in Trump-run Washington.
Mr Trump led Republicans into the longest government shutdown in history during the 2018 Christmas season, and interrupted the holidays in 2020 by tanking a bipartisan Covid-relief bill and forcing a second go.
For Mr Johnson, who faces his own problems ahead of a January 3 House vote to remain speaker, Mr Trump’s demands kept him working long into the night to broker a new deal.
Vice president-elect JD Vance joined the late-night meetings at the Capitol, bringing his young son in pyjamas.
Mr Trump’s allies even floated the far-fetched idea of giving billionaire Elon Musk the speaker’s gavel, since the speaker is not required to be a member of the Congress.
The bipartisan compromise brokered between Mr Johnson and the Democrats, whose support will be needed in the deeply split House and Senate to ensure passage, also tacked on much-anticipated disaster aid – $100.4 billion for states hard hit by Hurricanes Helen and Milton and other natural calamities.
But the 1,500-page bill outraged conservatives for its spending and extras. Musk, in his new foray into politics, led the charge.
The wealthiest man in the world used his social media platform X to amplify the unrest, and GOP lawmakers were besieged with phone calls to their offices telling them to oppose the plan.
Mr Trump announced his own displeasure late on Wednesday, and told Mr Johnson to start over – with the new demand on the debt limit, something that generally takes months to negotiate and that his own party generally opposes.
