Trump blesses new government funding plan—but will it pass in time?
On Thursday, Republican lawmakers reportedly developed a new proposal aimed at funding the government and avoiding a potential shutdown by Friday night’s deadline, according to The New York Times.
On Thursday night, the proposal failed in the House.
The latest proposal would have extended government funding at its current level through the middle of March and suspend the debt ceiling for two years.
Trump immediately endorsed the stopgap bill on his Truth Social platform, calling it a “SUCCESS in Washington” and urging both Republicans and Democrats to vote for it.
“Speaker Mike Johnson and the House have come to a very good Deal for the American People,” Trump wrote. “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. A VERY important piece, VITAL to the America First Agenda, was added as well - The date of the very unnecessary Debt Ceiling will be pushed out two years, to January 30, 2027.”
Yet Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries opposed Trump’s push to raise the debt ceiling, posting Thursday morning, “GOP extremists want House Democrats to raise the debt ceiling so that House Republicans can lower the amount of your Social Security check. Hard pass.”
Later on Thursday, Jeffries told journalists, “The Trump-Musk-Johnson proposal [is] laughable.”
The Hill reported that the legislation would also include an estimated $100 billion in disaster relief and $10 billion for farmer assistance—roughly the same amounts as the proposal earlier this week. Citing one of its anonymous sources, The Hill also said that “reforms to the pharmacy benefit manager industry were stripped from the package.”
House Democrats met with their leadership in the afternoon to discuss whether to support the GOP’s package before the evening vote. But prospects looked dim, with one Jeffries ally, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, calling the new plan “madness.”
After the vote failed Thursday night, House Speaker Mike Johnson indicated he would try again to pass the bill before Friday’s deadline. While the outcome remains uncertain, both sides are gearing up for a dramatic showdown in the final hours before Friday night’s deadline.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that the bill failed to pass in the House.
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