The House of Representatives approved a spending bill today in order to avoid a looming government shutdown. The bill passed by a vote of 366 to 34, resounding approval for a bill that has been the epicenter of the dramatic news cycle of the last 48 hours.
The passing of this bill marks a triumph for House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has faced harsh criticism within his own party over the first bill that he put forth in conjunction with Congressional leaders Hakeem Jeffries, Mitch McConnell, and Chuck Schumer.
That original bill, exceeding 1,500 pages, was heavily criticized by both President-elect Donald Trump and prominent members of the Republican Party.
On December 18th, Trump posted a warning to Congressional Republicans, writing on his Truth Social page,
The most foolish and inept thing ever done by Congressional Republicans was allowing our country to hit the debt ceiling in 2025. It was a mistake and is now something that must be addressed.
Meanwhile, Congress is considering a spending bill that would give sweetheart provisions for government censors and for Liz Cheney. The bill would make it easier to hide the records of the corrupt January 6 committee—which accomplished nothing for the American people and hid security failures that happened that day. This bill would also give Congress a pay increase while many Americans are struggling this Christmas.
Increasing the debt ceiling is not great but we’d rather do it on Biden’s watch. If Democrats won’t cooperate on the debt ceiling now, what makes anyone think they would do it in June during our administration? Let’s have this debate now. And we should pass a streamlined spending bill that doesn’t give Chuck Schumer and the Democrats everything they want.
Republicans want to support our farmers, pay for disaster relief, and set our country up for success in 2025. The only way to do that is with a temporary funding bill WITHOUT DEMOCRAT GIVEAWAYS combined with an increase in the debt ceiling. Anything else is a betrayal of our country…
Trump followed up that post with another message, this time saying,
….Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH. If Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, then CALL THEIR BLUFF. It is Schumer and Biden who are holding up aid to our farmers and disaster relief.
THIS CHAOS WOULD NOT BE HAPPENING IF WE HAD A REAL PRESIDENT. WE WILL IN 32 DAYS!
The President-elect was able to kill the initial bill with the assistance of billionaire Republican megadonor Elon Musk, who encouraged Republicans to tank the mammoth 1,500+ word legislation.
Musk posted to his X feed, writing, “Stop the steal of your tax dollars!”
Republicans have reportedly floated a $2.5 Trillion cut in mandatory spending programs, though President-elect Trump has demanded that these cuts not involve Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid.
What’s In The Spending Bill?
The spending bill passed by the House has yet to be ratified by the Senate, however, the bill is expected to pass. It’s important to know what our legislators just passed, and why this spending legislation has been the focus of all political news for days now. Here’s what’s in the bill.
$100 Billion In Aid To Communities Recovering From Natural Disasters
$100 Billion of the aid in this package will go to victims of recent natural disasters across the United States. This includes Hawaiians who had their lives destroyed by the Maui wildfires of 2023.
The aid will also apply to those more recently slammed by flooding in the Western regions of North Carolina.
Extending Aid To Our Farmers
Key aid that was to be distributed to farmers across the United States. It extends these benefits for one year.
Trump Loses Key Battle To Raise The United States’ Borrowing Cap
Over the last several days it has been reported by the Wall Street Journal and others that President-elect Trump has been lobbying Congress to raise our Nation’s borrowing cap heading into his second term.
There are many reasons that Trump may have demanded this, including an expansion of our military, the mass deportation effort he claims that he will implement, or even possibly an investment in infrastructure that Trump has also talked about.
The President-elect reportedly sought to expand the Nation’s borrowing cap until 2027, revealing that he may have serious plans to spend big during his second term.
It is being reported tonight that Congress failed to raise the borrowing cap in this negotiation, handing the Democrats a massive win on Capitol Hill.
Republicans instead opted to raise the debt ceiling and pledge to cut spending in 2025, something the Republican Party has often promised, yet never fulfilled.
Is Speaker Mike Johnson’s Future In Doubt?
Speaker Mike Johnson came under fire from many angles during this battle over the continuing resolution, and he seems to have emerged from the fight with his relationships with Trump and Musk still intact.
As for other members of the Republican Party such a Marjorie Taylor Greene, Johnson’s willingness to work with Democrats is a sign of weakness, and all the more reason he should be removed.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre slammed Johnson over his handling of the spending legislation, telling reporters today during her daily press briefing, “This is a mess that Speaker Johnson created. This is his mess to fix.”
Johnson and the Republicans are set to hold a 219-215 majority heading into the next Congress, a majority so thin that just a few Republican dissenters could in fact oust Johnson just as former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted.
While Johnson’s future is uncertain, the House speaker appears to be safe… for now.
