House Republicans have reached an agreement to prevent an imminent government shutdown — and President-elect Donald Trump is asking all members of the conference to pass it by Thursday night.
The new funding deal would keep the government’s lights on for three months, ramp up agricultural aid again, add a two-year suspension of the debt limit until Jan. 30, 2027, and replenished disaster relief, while cutting other aspects of the former. This deal went up in flames on Wednesday For the text of the 116-page bill,
“Speaker Mike Johnson and the House have made a very good deal for the American people,” Trump announced on Truth Social.
“All Republicans, and even Democrats, must do what is best for our country, and vote ‘yes’ on this bill tonight!”
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Thomas Cole (R-Okla.) and Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) confirmed to reporters around 3:30 p.m. without elaborating after walking out of day-long deliberations. That “there is an agreement”. Speaker’s office.
The earlier deal was more than 1,500 pages long Killed due to heavy lobbying of tech billionaire Elon MuskHis Department of Government Efficiency co-chairman Vivek Ramaswamy and other financial experts in the House.
Sources told The Post that MPs can vote in the House till 6 pm, although it is not clear whether the bill will be approved by the Rules Committee or immediately taken up in the House.
Due to House rules, a proposal that does not pass through committee would need to receive two-thirds support from the lower chamber, meaning some Democrats would have to cross the aisle to vote in favor of the funding extension. Will have to cross.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) remained holed up in his office Thursday as scores of Republican lawmakers went in and out of his office.
Trump, who came out against the earlier government funding plan on Wednesday, was briefed on the deal through staffers and directly, according to lawmakers involved in the discussions.
“The new agreement on the American Relief Act of 2024 will keep the government open, keep our great farmers and others funded, and provide relief to those severely impacted by the devastating hurricanes,” Trump said.
News of the agreement came as the House Freedom Caucus was meeting and planning the situation. It appears that the leadership is trying to push the deal forward as quickly as possible.
Johnson had previously indicated he expected to follow the 72-hour rule, which is aimed at giving members time to sift through the text of any deal. However, the chances of this happening had become very slim after the previous 1,547-page bill was rejected.
The new deal would cut previous provisions, including a pay raise for members of Congress, up to $2 billion in funding for the Francis Scott Key Bridge, reforms aimed at cracking down on pharmaceutical profit managers and more.
After canceling the prior government funding plan, Trump called on Congress to address the debt ceiling, which was suspended until early next year.
This scattered the radical Republicans, who had also expressed anger against the initial agreement.
“This is a watered-down version of the same crappy bill that people were crazy about yesterday,” Representative Chip Roy (R-Texas) told reporters after details of the deal were revealed.
Now, if the measure passes, the debt limit will be suspended until January 30, 2027.
Roy had been in and out of Johnson’s office on Thursday and Trump had launched a fierce attack against him on Truth Social. The president-elect was previously angry at him for endorsing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) in the 2024 GOP primary.
Democrats have so far been skeptical about whether they will play ball.
“House Democrats will continue to fight for the future of families, farmers and working-class Americans,” House Minority Leader Hakim (D-NY) told reporters Thursday. “And to do that, the best path forward is the bipartisan compromise we negotiated.”
If Congress fails to act, the government will impose a partial shutdown after midnight Friday.
Several Republicans who stormed out of Johnson’s office Thursday indicated they wanted disaster relief and aid to farmers to be included in any package.
The measure would need to be approved by the Senate and receive President Biden’s signature to take effect.
(TagstoTranslate)Politics(T)US news(T)Congress(T)Funding(T)Government shutdown(T)Government spending(T)Mike Johnson
