US President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday urged Republican lawmakers to hammer out a cross-party deal to prevent a looming US government shutdown.
Anticipating a Friday night deadline to defund federal agencies, party leaders in Congress are calling for a “continued Resolution” (CR).
But Trump and many of his high-profile aides, including tech billionaire Elon Musk, refused to commit to additional spending on the text, which would have increased costs but was expected to reach President Joe Biden’s desk before departments were shut down. The possibility is gone.
Suggesting that concessions to Democrats in the bill were a “betrayal of our country”, Trump called for Republicans to “be smart and strong” in a joint statement with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance.
He said, “If the Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, screw them.”
Trump wields enormous influence over Republicans, who currently control the House of Representatives and will also control the Senate when he returns to office on January 20. His intervention makes it almost certain that the 1,547-page bill will never reach the House floor.
The package includes more than $100 billion in disaster relief requested by the White House, $30 billion in aid for farmers, restrictions on investment in China and the first pay raise for lawmakers since 2009.
But add-ons to the package sparked a revolt in Republican ranks, meaning the leadership was forced to rely on Democratic votes — a strategy that ousted previous House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his own party.
Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, “House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government. And hurt the working-class Americans they claim to support. You break the bipartisan agreement, then You are responsible for the consequences that occur.”
Particularly at stake in the talks to replace McCarthy is Mike Johnson, whose bid to retain the House speakership in a January vote appears in jeopardy amid a storm of criticism over the legislation.
Speaking on cable news to promote the deal before Trump’s statement, Johnson told Fox News: “Here’s the key: By doing this, we’re clearing the decks, and we’re back with America for Trump.” The first agenda is being prepared to come.”
– representative government –
The CR is needed because neither chamber could agree on various departmental budgets for the entire 2025 fiscal year, which began on October 1. Government departments and services from national parks to border control will begin closing from Saturday unless an agreement is reached.
The massive disaster relief figure, which drew the ire of Republicans, was intended to help victims of devastating 2024 hurricanes Helene and Milton and fund recovery efforts for floods, wildfires and tornadoes.
One provision that may have directly affected lawmakers was the pay increase, which was achieved by eliminating the prohibition on applying for cost-of-living allowances available to other federal employees.
The annual salary for members of Congress has been stuck at $174,000 for 15 years and some argue that if it does not compete with private sector salaries, only wealthy people will run for office.
Dozens of Republicans in the House — where they have a slim majority and could lose only three members in partisan votes — appear prepared to oppose the bill if it comes to a vote.
Rank-and-file Republicans typically object to temporary funding agreements because they keep spending levels stable rather than introducing cuts, and are always full of “pork” – additional spending without proper debate.
California Congressman Kevin Kelly said, “It takes a few pages to keep the government open. The other 1,500-plus include a host of new policies and spending that have been completely denied the public input on which representative government depends.” Does.”
Musk, the world’s richest man, has
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