New GOP Spending Plan Bombs In House Vote After Musk, Trump Torched Original Plan
WASHINGTON ― House Republicans on Thursday came up with a new plan to fund the government after billionaire Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump tanked their first one on Wednesday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) immediately brought the bill to the House floor in a fast-track manner, requiring two-thirds support for passage instead of a simple majority. The bill bombed by a vote of 174 to 235, with 38 Republicans voting no.
The failed bill would have funded the government until March, provided billions in disaster assistance and also suspended the federal government’s borrowing limit for two years ― a key Trump demand.
“The newly agreed to American Relief Act of 2024 will keep the Government open, fund our Great Farmers and others, and provide relief for those severely impacted by the devastating hurricanes,” Trump said on his website before the vote.
The government will shut down on Friday night if Congress fails to act.
House Democrats said earlier on Thursday they opposed adding Trump’s demand to the funding package, and they sharply criticized the new plan as soon as details emerged.
“The Musk-Johnson proposal is not serious,” Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters. “It’s laughable. Extreme MAGA Republicans are driving us to a government shutdown.”
The previous legislation, the result of a bipartisan negotiation, omitted the debt ceiling provision and also included several other items, including a pay raise for lawmakers, that Musk and fellow billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy trashed as wasteful spending on Wednesday, prompting Speaker Johnson to abandon the bill.
Republicans seemed to be hoping that either Democrats were bluffing about opposing a debt ceiling increase or that voters would blame them for a government shutdown if the bill failed.
“If Democrats don’t want the government to shut down, they better play ball,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) told reporters.
Jeffries slammed Republicans for pushing to add the debt ceiling demand to the bill, saying they were doing so in order to pass deficit-financed tax cuts in Trump’s second term.
“It’s been interesting to me that for decades the Republican Party has lectured America about fiscal responsibility, about the debt and deficit,” Jeffries said. “It’s always been phony. This bill proves it.”
It’s usually Republicans who oppose raising the debt ceiling. “There’s nothing in this you’re against,” Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said.
But several GOP lawmakers said they opposed the bill partly because of the debt limit provision.
“I am not going to raise or suspend the debt ceiling (racking up more debt) without significant & real spending cuts attached to it,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said online in response to news of the deal.
Trump suggested on Thursday that Roy should be replaced with another Republican.
“Chip Roy is just another ambitious guy, with no talent,” he wrote.
As the House voted, Johnson declined to say what would happen next if the bill failed.
“This is Washington,” he said. “This is how lawmaking is done.”
