President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a stand against the Republican president. government funding billsupported Elon Musk’s campaign against the package, raising the possibility of a government shutdown.
Trump is against it Ongoing solution The plan was proposed by Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, according to a person familiar with the president-elect’s thinking, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.
A source confirmed that Trump: told a Fox News host He is “totally opposed” to CR.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Vice President-elect and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) issued a joint statement from him and Trump saying politicians would not give Democrats “everything they want” but “a streamlined bill.” He declared that it should be passed.
“Republicans want to help farmers, pay for disaster relief, and set our country up for success in 2025. The only way to do that is with a stopgap funding bill with no aid from Democrats. and raising the debt ceiling.” Statement posted by Vance on X.
“Any other action is a betrayal of our country,” their statement read.
Their opposition will lend significant weight to Mr. Musk’s all-day effort to water down a 1,547-page bill packed with wasteful pork barrel spending.
If a bill funding the government passes both houses of Congress and is signed by the president after Friday night, the federal government will begin imposing a partial shutdown, including furloughing employees.
Musk, who was nominated by President Trump to co-lead an advisory group aimed at reducing perceived government waste, appears concerned about the possibility of a government shutdown a week before Christmas. There wasn’t.
“‘Shut down’ the government (without actually shutting down any essential functions, by the way) is far better than passing terrible legislation,” Musk wrote in one of dozens of papers. Ta. X posts Install a handrail against the CR.
in another postMusk insisted that Congress “should not pass any legislation” until President Trump takes office on January 20.
A growing number of Republicans are siding with Musk and could force Johnson (R-Louisiana) to pass the resolution using a process known as a “suspension” of the traditional House rules process.
Pending bills would need support from two-thirds of the House of Representatives to pass, but other formalities would be bypassed.
Passing the pending bill would require Democrats to join Republicans, and as of Wednesday morning passing the CR hold-up appeared to be the most likely path to funding the government.
Johnson said Wednesday morning that he had been texting with Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy about the bill overnight.
“They understand the situation. They said, ‘Mr. Chairman, this is not for you, but we don’t like the spending.'” I said, “You know what, I don’t, either. That’s not true,”’ Johnson told “Fox & Friends.”
But Johnson said he told Musk and Ramaswamy “we have to get this done” because it would “set the stage” for Trump to enact policy. Ta.
The internal revolt over CR could threaten Mr Johnson’s chances of being re-elected as Speaker on January 3, when he will need support from a majority of all houses to take back the gavel.
Johnson took over as speaker in October 2023, following the Republican-led ouster of former California Rep. Kevin McCarthy. Mr. Johnson has won his party’s nomination to continue as speaker, but several House Republicans declined to say Wednesday whether they would support Mr. Johnson for the speakership when Congress convenes next time, with an even smaller Republican majority. .
Asked if he would vote for Speaker Johnson, Rep. Kevin Hahn (Okla.), chairman of the Republican exploratory committee, said, “We’ll see what happens.” Punch Bowl News reported.
Rep. Thomas Massie, Republican of Kentucky, said he would vote for someone else. Punchbowl reported.
The short-term funding bill, which will keep the government open until mid-March, was announced Tuesday night, days before federal funding expires.
The bill includes more than $100 billion in disaster relief funding aimed at dealing with the devastating hurricanes that hit states like Florida and North Carolina earlier this year.
President Joe Biden has not specifically mentioned the bill. Wednesday marked the 52nd anniversary of the death of his first wife and baby daughter in 1972. car accident. Biden spent the day with his family, attending church services and honoring their memories.
