House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Republican lawmakers hope that the third time will be the charm when it comes to passing a spending bill to avoid a government shutdown.
Johnson is reportedly working on a “Plan C” after the first two proposals fell apart. Congress is currently racing against the clock to get a spending bill passed before the deadline at midnight on Friday.
This latest effort comes amid internal divisions among Republicans, with some favoring a short-term funding extension into January and others seeking to push for more substantial provisions.
Further complicating the matter is President-elect Donald Trump’s demand to suspend the debt ceiling for two years and X owner Elon Musk’s criticism on social media.
“There’s a chance today a clean CR [continuing resolution], short-term clean CR — it may be for two, three weeks,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) said during an interview on CNBC.
After the initial proposal fell through, Johnson and his team returned to the drawing board as Trump and Musk opposed key provisions in the measure. The revised “Plan B” included $110 billion in disaster aid and a suspension of the debt ceiling for two years. However, it still failed to get the required level of support from Republican and Democratic lawmakers. Over 30 GOP lawmakers voted against the measure.
“Trump’s last-minute demand to address the debt limit has drastically complicated the government funding process,” according to The Hill.
Still, there appears to be hope for a solution before the midnight deadline.
While no decision has been made, multiple members say there are discussions about passing a short-term stopgap that would only punt funding into mid-January. That would avert a shutdown and allow lawmakers to go home for the holidays, though they’d return to the same problems in the new year.
The discussions around a short-term funding patch option include moving a separate disaster aid package, similar if not the exact same, as the $110 billion one Republicans negotiated with Democrats in the original stopgap agreement, according to two Republicans. Still, GOP lawmakers caution that everything is very much in flux.
Per sources, House Rs to meet at 1230 to talk emerging funding strategy: 4 votes on:
— Sarah Ferris (@sarahnferris) December 20, 2024
- 3-mo stopgap
- $100b disaster
- $10b farm
- debt limit hike
Conservatives have been pushing this. Massie last night: "I think we should separate these bills and put them on the floor."
In a post on Truth Social, Trump suggested that Republicans should allow the government to shut down under the Biden administration.
In a previous post, he urged Congress to “get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous Debt Ceiling.”
Democrats, having been largely excluded from “Plan B,” appear more engaged in crafting the new resolution, according to Axios.
What we’re hearing: Jeffries told House Democrats in a closed-door caucus meeting Friday morning that lines of communication between the two leaders have reopened, according to numerous sources in the room.
The Democratic leader said he is doing “everything possible” to get the impasse resolved Friday “consistent with our values and bipartisan agreement we have negotiated,” two lawmakers told Axios.
He also praised his party for their unity on Thursday’s vote, saying it forced Johnson back to the negotiating table, sources said.
It is highly likely that Johnson will rely on support from Democrats to pass the stopgap measure, given that many GOP lawmakers refuse to go along with proposals that would do away with the debt ceiling without including significant spending cuts.
If Johnson goes this route, it is almost certain that he will avoid a government shutdown. However, such a move could severely damage his chances of retaining his position as House speaker.