WASHINGTON D.C. (AP) — Veering toward a midnight Friday government shutdown, House Speaker Mike Johnson is proposing a new plan that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid, but punts President-elect Donald Trump demands for a debt limit increase into the new year.
On Thursday, the House rejected Trump’s new plan to fund operations and suspend the debt ceiling, as Democrats and dozens of Republicans refused to accommodate his sudden demands.
Here’s the latest:
Johnson says House Republicans have agreed on a new spending deal
House Speaker Mike Johnson says Republicans had reached a consensus on a deal to fund the government but provided no details on its contours.
“We have a unified Republican Conference. There is a unanimous agreement in the room that we need to move forward,” Johnson told reporters as he exited a House GOP conference meeting.
“I will not telegraph to you the specific details of that yet because I’ve got a couple of things I got to wrap up in a few moments upstairs, but I expect that we will be proceeding forward,” he said.
“We will not have a government shutdown,” Johnson declared.
The speaker added that lawmakers “will meet our obligations for our farmers who aid for the disaster victims all over the country, and for making sure that military and essential services and everyone who relies upon the federal government for a paycheck is paid over the holidays.”
‘Bold agenda’ starts in January
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told reporters Republicans are still debating the contours of a new budget deal but, “ultimately we will bring something to the floor, either through a suspension or a rule, and we’re making that decision.”
Scalise noted that they were examining the role of the debt ceiling in a potential deal but didn’t elaborate further.
When asked whether Trump was briefed on the plan, Scalise replied: “The president’s very interested in how his administration will start in January. So we want to be on a footing for success so that we can move that agenda through. We have a very bold agenda that starts in January.”
‘This is not for the president to fix’
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pushed back after getting numerous questions at her daily briefing Friday about why President Biden hasn’t spoken publicly about the possibility of a government shutdown.
“This is not for the president to fix,” she said. “Republicans need to fix the mess that they caused.”
