House GOP Strikes Deal to Avoid Govt. Shutdown

Improve the News Foundation -

Facts

  • US House GOP leaders Thursday said they were able to come up with a short-term government funding bill that will allow them to avoid a shutdown scheduled to start late Friday and affect the paychecks of government workers ahead of the holidays. Pres.-elect Donald Trump endorsed the bill.[1]
  • The new bill contains a three-month extension of current government spending levels and a $110B extension of disaster relief and aid for farmers. Added to the bill was a provision to suspend the US debt ceiling for two years.[1]
  • Previously, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) introduced a 1,547-page bipartisan spending bill Tuesday night to keep the government funded through March 14, 2025, including over $100B in disaster aid.[2][3][4]
  • But Trump, Vice Pres.-elect JD Vance, and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who has emerged as an advisor to Trump, opposed the bill.[5]
  • Trump and Vance released a statement with their formal opposition to the continuing resolution, calling for a "streamlined spending bill" that prevents Democrats from getting "everything they want." Separately, Trump ordered the GOP to pass a bill that doesn't push a debt ceiling debate into his upcoming term.[6][7]
  • In more than a dozen social media posts, Musk excoriated Republicans for agreeing to the bill, writing a government shutdown would be better "than passing a horrible bill," and suggested no bills should pass before Trump's Jan. 20, 2025 inauguration.[8][9]

Sources: [1]CNBC, [2]NBC, [3]New York Post, [4]MSN, [5]CNN, [6]X (a), [7]Truth Social, [8]X (b) and [9]X (c).

Narratives

  • Conservative narrative, as provided by The Federalist. The previous bill was filled with Democratic giveaways and special interest provisions that betrayed conservative principles and fiscal responsibility. This streamlined continuing resolution with a debt ceiling increase while Joe Biden is still president will better serve the country and let Trump start with a clean slate.
  • Democratic narrative, as provided by MSNBC. House Republicans have abandoned a bipartisan agreement that would have kept numerous government programs funded. Instead they've decided to follow orders from ultra-wealthy, unelected figures and a billionaire who has yet to be sworn into office, leaving open the risk of a government shutdown and putting working Americans in harm's way.