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Lawmakers unveiled a stopgap spending bill Tuesday night to prevent a government shutdown, funding the government through March 14 and including $100 billion for disaster relief and other key provisions.
The deal would avoid a lame-duck showdown and instead leave major spending decisions to the incoming Trump administration. The bill’s announcement comes amid growing frustration among conservatives with Speaker Mike Johnson over negotiations and with House Republican leaders facing a vote to keep the gavel at the start of the new Congress. is a warning sign.
The agreement had been delayed for at least a day as leaders from both parties negotiated their respective legislative priorities for year-end policy. In addition to disaster relief, which is a top priority for Democrats and the Biden administration, Republicans are pushing for agricultural aid, with the package including $10 billion in economic aid for farmers, and the issue was brought up at the last minute of the package. This resulted in large-scale negotiations.
But his agreement with Democrats in late December sparked outrage across the Republican conference. Many Republican lawmakers are outraged by the number of provisions added to the bill that aim to simply extend current funding levels and prevent a shutdown.
If the bill passes as expected, Johnson, incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and President-elect Donald Trump will face major funding troubles in early 2025, making them The government’s ability to govern will be tested.
President Trump’s first few months back in Washington were already expected to be busy. Congressional leaders, already under pressure to quickly confirm Trump’s Cabinet in the Senate, will also need to resolve the debt limit standoff. President Trump is also eyeing a pair of huge legislative packages that focus first on border and energy policy and second on taxes.
The new funding deadline will be a major political test for the Trump administration and the two relatively moderate Republican Hill leaders. Further complicating matters, Johnson has little margin for error early in the new Congress, before it replaces outgoing members of Trump’s cabinet.
The decision to block the spending fight was opposed by many Republican leaders, including the powerful Appropriations Committee chairman, Rep. Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican who is leaving the administration. ), who had hoped to reach an agreement with the Democratic Party.
But conservatives like the House Freedom Caucus had argued that they could strike a better funding deal if Republicans took full control in January.
The bill includes nearly $100 billion in disaster relief and another $10 billion in economic aid to farmers.
That includes $29 billion for FEMA’s disaster relief fund. Another $2.2 billion for the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program. Disaster relief for farmers includes $21 billion, including $10 billion in economic aid to farmers and $35 in state and tribal assistance grants earmarked for disaster-damaged water systems. Includes $1 billion.
There would be $12 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s disaster relief program, and $8 billion for federal highway and road disaster relief.
The funding bill also has major benefits for the city of Washington, D.C., which aims to become the future home of the Washington Commandery. After years of infighting, Hill leaders allowed the team to negotiate with D.C. leaders to return to the grounds of Robert F. Kennedy Stadium. The provision comes after Hill leaders met other demands from Maryland leaders, including that the federal government pay for the entire cost of replacing the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
The bill would also ultimately allow the U.S. Treasury to recover settlement proceeds related to the Key Bridge collapse for reconstruction costs.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has been in close contact with Democratic leaders until they reached an agreement.
The daylong delays on Monday and Tuesday came amid much bigger problems for Mr Johnson. Several Republican lawmakers and senior aides privately predict that Mr. Johnson will ultimately not be able to support the bill with a majority in the chamber.
“It’s an absolute monster,” Republican Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona said before announcing the spending bill, adding: This city. ”
Asked by CNN if he planned to vote for Johnson on January 3, when MPs convene to elect Speaker of the House of Commons, Crane said he would “absolutely not vote” on the spending bill, adding: “I’m not sure about January 3. We’ll see how it goes.” Klain was one of eight Republicans last year to vote to expel then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Another Republican who helped defeat Mr. McCarthy, Rep. Tim Burchett, called the way the leadership has funded the government “gutless,” explaining: Also. ”
Mr. Crane and Mr. Burchett said Tuesday that Mr. Johnson and Republican negotiators may concede too many Democratic demands, leading to the kind of big year-end policy that Mr. Johnson has vowed to avoid. He was one of several House conservatives who said they were concerned about the possibility.
“This is a complete dumpster fire,” Missouri Republican Rep. Eric Burlison said, expressing frustration with Johnson for not committing to support him on the floor in January.
Most conservatives routinely oppose spending deals on the floor, so their anger is largely symbolic. But the Conservatives have sent early warnings to Mr Johnson, suggesting this week’s funding battle could decide his fate in the leadership vote.
“Let’s see. Everything has consequences,” South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman said when asked if next month’s funding bill would affect support for Mr. Johnson.
Mr Johnson and his allies have spent hours in recent days trying to keep conservatives on their side as negotiations continue. Mr Johnson attended the weekly meeting of the House of Commons Freedom Caucus on Monday night, detailing some of the conversations about spending and working to thwart a Conservative revolt.
Rep. Byron Donald, who attended the meeting, said lawmakers still want to see the agreement and “have a lot of questions.”
“With an agreement like this, the big question is, ‘What does the other side get?'” Donalds said.
Negotiators had hoped to finalize a government funding deal over the weekend, but a last-minute impasse led to a Friday deadline for action in Congress.
The battle over aid to farmers troubled negotiators over the weekend as Republicans scrambled to include additional funding in a year-end spending deal while Democrats continued to make demands in exchange. There is.
Asked if farm aid could wait until 2025, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told CNN, “There could be a lot of foreclosures before the end of this year, so it’s an immediate threat and we need to address it by the end of the year.” I have to do it,” he said. If you want to maintain family farms across America, this is the year. ”
“From a political crowd standpoint, of course, rural America has been Republican for a long time and continues to be Republican,” said Oklahoma Republican Rep. Frank Lucas, former chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. This council therefore has the following responsibilities: They can meet these needs not just because of their political base, but because these farmers feed the United States and the world. ”
Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas argued that Republicans should have forced Democrats to vote down farm aid in the full House and should not have offered any sweeteners in return.
“If I were doing this, I would have Democrats vote down farm aid,” Roy said. “Put it on the floor and actually go down and legislate… So instead we get this shitty negotiation and we’re forced to eat this shitty sandwich – why? Because, Christmas We’re almost there. It’s the same every year: we legislate based on the crisis, we legislate based on the calendar, we don’t legislate because it’s the right thing to do.”
This article and heading have been updated with additional developments.
CNN’s Annie Grayer and Haley Talbot contributed to this report.
