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By Hugh Cameron and Michael D. Carroll
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What's New?
House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he expects new votes to be held on Friday as time runs out for lawmakers to pass a temporary funding bill.
"We're expecting votes this morning. So y'all stay tuned, we've got a plan," Johnson told reporters as he arrived at the U.S. Capitol on Friday.
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Why It Matters
Johnson's comments come as members of Congress face growing pressure to agree on a bill that will keep the government's lights on for the short term. However, disagreements over what to include have increased the threat of a government shutdown over the Christmas period.
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What to Know
A Republican-backed measure was introduced to the House floor on Thursday, but it failed to gain the two-thirds majority needed to pass. The House voted against the bill by 235 votes to 174, with 38 Republican rebels joining the Democrats.
The bill, which included a three-month extension of government funding and a suspension of the U.S. debt ceiling, was endorsed by President-elect Donald Trump.
"Speaker Mike Johnson and the House have come to a very good Deal for the American People. 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 posted to Truth Social hours prior to the bill failing in the House.
The package was just 116 pages long, unlike the nearly 1,600-page bipartisan bill that had been negotiated before Trump and Elon Musk came out against it.
What People are Saying
JD Vance said that Democrats voted against the Republican bill because they "didn't want to give the president negotiating leverage during the first year of his new term."
Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries dubbed the bill the "Musk-Johnson proposal," referencing the Tesla billionaire's opposition to the previous bipartisan bill.
Jeffries told reporters that the Republican proposal was "not serious," and said that "extreme MAGA Republicans are driving us to a government shutdown."
After the vote on Thursday, Speaker Johnson said: "We're going to regroup and we will come up with another solution, so stay tuned."
The White House on Thursday indicated that President Biden would not sign the Trump-backed bill even if it landed on his desk.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: "Republicans are breaking their word to support a bipartisan agreement that would lower prescription drug costs and make it harder to offshore jobs to China—and instead putting forward a bill that paves the way for tax breaks for billionaires while cutting critical programs working families count on, from Social Security to Head Start.
"President Biden supports the bipartisan agreement to keep the government open, help communities recovering from disasters, and lower costs—not this giveaway for billionaires that Republicans are proposing at the 11th hour."
What Happens Next?
The rejection of Thursday's bill now puts the government on a clear path toward shutdown. Congress faces a midnight deadline to come up with a solution, after which non-essential government services will begin to shut down and some federal employees could be required to work without pay.
Even if Republicans in the House are able to pass a new bill, it would likely face tough odds in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
Commenting on the prospect of a government shutdown, Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday: "If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now, under the Biden Administration, not after January 20th, under 'TRUMP'. This is a Biden problem to solve, but if Republicans can help solve it, they will!"
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