Texas Weekly Online

Menu
Menu
Facebook Twitter Youtube

Author:

In an early legislative test for Trump, plan B spending bill tanks in House

In an early legislative test for Trump, plan B spending bill tanks in House

House Republicans failed to secure the majority votes needed Thursday on a spending bill to avert a government shutdown by week’s end, handing a decisive loss to President-elect Trump in an early test of his ability to unite Republicans in the chamber.  The bill failed by a vote of 235-174, including 38 Republicans who voted down the legislation.  The bill not only failed the method that allowed lawmakers to fast-track it with a two-thirds majority. It also failed to pass by normal standards, which require a threshold of 218 “yea” votes.  TRUMP-BACKED SPENDING BILL TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN FAILS HOUSE VOTE Among the 38 Republicans who voted against the bill was Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who torched the funding legislation in a speech on the House floor.  Roy, who spent much of the day Thursday sparring with Trump over Roy’s opposition to the deal, noted that the measure would allow $5 trillion to be added to the national debt, cutting against the GOP’s tenet of fiscal responsibility.  Roy said Republicans who voted to approve the measure lack “self-respect.”  “I am absolutely sickened by a party that campaigns on fiscal responsibility and has the temerity to go forward to the American people and say you think this is fiscally responsible,” said Roy, who had also opposed the first spending bill. “It is absolutely ridiculous.” Still, the number of Republicans who failed to fall in line Thursday evening could signal bigger challenges ahead for Trump, who had sought to bend House Speaker Mike Johnson and others in the chamber’s GOP majority to his political will and pass through a new bill with a higher debt ceiling. That bill sparked opposition from Democrats, who were more broadly opposed to the idea, and from fiscal conservatives within the Republican Party. With $36 trillion in debt and a $1.8 trillion deficit in 2024, some conservatives are against a continuing resolution, which punts the funding deadline to March and keeps spending at 2024 levels. The deal Trump had pushed for would have included a two-year suspension of the debt limit, sparking further opposition among some Republicans. ‘HELL NO’: HOUSE DEMS ERUPT OVER GOP SPENDING DEAL That divide put pressure on Democrats, who had widely signaled their intent Thursday to oppose the legislation. Minority leaders spent most of the day railing against Trump and Elon Musk for interfering in the process and tanking the first spending deal, which had been slated to pass Wednesday night with bipartisan support.  Ahead of the vote on the new bill Thursday, Democrats led chants of “hell no,” sending a clear signal of their displeasure over the way the new spending bill was teed up.  Following the bill’s failure, Johnson immediately began huddling with a group of House Republicans who had voted against the bill in a likely attempt to shore up support for another vote Friday. “Very disappointing to us that all but two Democrats voted against aid to farmers and ranchers, against disaster relief, against all these bipartisan measures that had already been negotiated and decided upon,” Johnson said after the failed vote. “Again, the only difference in this legislation was that we would push the debt ceiling to January 2027.  “I want you all to remember that it was just last spring that the same Democrats berated Republicans and said that it was irresponsible to hold the debt limit, the debt ceiling hostage.”

Hillary Clinton says Republicans are taking orders from ‘world’s richest man’ to shut down government

Hillary Clinton says Republicans are taking orders from ‘world’s richest man’ to shut down government

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sounded off about Elon Musk’s influence over the spending drama on Capitol Hill on Thursday.  “If you’re just catching up: the Republican Party, taking orders from the world’s richest man, is on course to shut down the government over the holidays, stopping paychecks for our troops and nutrition benefits for low-income families just in time for Christmas,” the 2016 presidential candidate wrote on X. Clinton, a former first lady and senator, was in Congress from 2001 to 2009.  Her comments came just as House Speaker Mike Johnson released a new version of a continuing resolution, or CR, to keep the government open beyond a Friday night deadline.  ‘HELL NO’: HOUSE DEMS ERUPT OVER GOP SPENDING DEAL Musk came out in strong opposition to the original spending deal Johnson negotiated with Democrats, threatening to back a primary challenge to any Republican who voted for it.  Without a passable deal to kick the government funding deadline to March and continue spending at 2024 levels, the government will go into partial shutdown at midnight Saturday. But House Democrats are balking at the latest iteration of a spending plan. And with $36 trillion in debt and a $1.8 trillion deficit in 2024, some conservatives are against a CR, which punts the funding deadline to March and keeps spending at 2024 levels entirely. “The Musk-Johnson proposal is not serious, it’s laughable. Extreme MAGA Republicans are driving us to a government shutdown,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.  Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., indicated Democratic leadership would whip their members to vote “no” on the deal. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., lamented that the last deal had been blown up by opposition from conservatives, with input from DOGE leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.  HERE’S WHAT HAPPENS DURING A PARTIAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN “Everybody agreed,” he said, “and then it was blown up by Elon Musk, who apparently has become the fourth branch of government. And that’s just an intolerable way of proceeding.” “Democrats are going to try to figure out how we can salvage the public good as the wreckage that’s just been pushed.” Chants of “hell no” could be heard inside the room where Democrats were meeting after the bill’s text was released.  The newest continuing resolution, or CR, would extend current government funding levels for three months and also suspend the debt limit for two years, something President-elect Trump has demanded. It comes after the original 1,500-page CR drew opposition from the right, due to policy and funding riders. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP House lawmakers could vote on the new bill as early as Thursday evening. It’s not immediately clear if the new deal would pass – Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who also led opposition to the initial bill, also blasted the new deal. “More debt. More government. Increasing the Credit Card $4 trillion with ZERO spending restraint and cuts. HARD NO,” Roy wrote on X.

House vote imminent on Trump-backed bill to avoid government shutdown

House vote imminent on Trump-backed bill to avoid government shutdown

The House of Representatives is set to imminently vote on a bill backed by President-elect Trump to avert a government shutdown. It comes after two days of chaos in Congress as lawmakers fought amongst themselves about a path forward on government spending – a fight joined by Trump and his allies Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Meanwhile, the national debt has climbed to over $36 trillion, and the national deficit is over $1.8 trillion. The legislation was hastily negotiated on Thursday after GOP hardliners led by Musk and Ramaswamy rebelled against an initial bipartisan deal that would have extended the government funding deadline until March 14 and included a host of unrelated policy riders. The new deal also includes several key policies unrelated to keeping the government open, but the 116-page bill is much narrower than its 1,547-page predecessor. Like the initial bill, the new iteration extended the government funding deadline through March 14 while also suspending the debt limit – something Trump had pushed for. It proposed to suspend the debt limit for two years until January 2027, still keeping it in Trump’s term but delaying that fight until after the 2026 Congressional midterm elections. The new proposal also included roughly $110 billion in disaster relief aid for Americans affected by storms Milton and Helene, as well as a measure to cover the cost of rebuilding Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, which was hit by a barge earlier this year. Excluded from the second-round measure is the first pay raise for congressional lawmakers since 2009 and a measure aimed at revitalizing Washington, D.C.’s RFK stadium. The text of the new bill was also significantly shorter – going from 1,547 pages to just 116. “All Republicans, and even the Democrats, should do what is best for our Country, and vote ‘YES’ for this Bill, TONIGHT!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. But the bill hit opposition before the legislative text was even released. Democrats, furious at Johnson for reneging on their original bipartisan deal, chanted “Hell no” in their closed-door conference meeting on Thursday night to debate the bill. Nearly all House Democrats who left the meeting indicated they were voting against it. Meanwhile, members of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus also said they would vote against the bill. “Old bill: $110BB in deficit spending (unpaid for), $0 increase in the national credit card. New bill: $110BB in deficit spending (unpaid for), $4 TRILLION+ debt ceiling increase with $0 in structural reforms for cuts. Time to read the bill: 1.5 hours. I will vote no,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, wrote on X.

‘Hell no’: House Dems erupt over GOP spending deal

‘Hell no’: House Dems erupt over GOP spending deal

House Democrats are balking at the latest iteration of a spending plan that was released on Thursday by Speaker Mike Johnson. “The Musk-Johnson proposal is not serious, it’s laughable. Extreme MAGA Republicans are driving us to a government shutdown,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.  Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., indicated Democratic leadership would whip their members to vote “no” on the deal. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., lamented that the last deal had been blown up by opposition from conservatives, with input from DOGE leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.  “Everybody agreed,” he said, “and then it was blown up by Elon Musk, who apparently has become the fourth branch of government. And that’s just an intolerable way of proceeding.” “Democrats are going to try to figure out how we can salvage the public good as the wreckage that’s just been pushed.” HERE’S WHAT HAPPENS DURING A PARTIAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN Chants of “hell no” could be heard inside the room where Democrats were meeting after the bill’s text was released.  The newest continuing resolution, or CR, would extend current government funding levels for three months and also suspend the debt limit for two years, something President-elect Trump has demanded. It comes after the original 1,500-page CR drew opposition from the right, due to policy and funding riders. House lawmakers could vote on the new bill as early as Thursday evening. It’s not immediately clear if the new deal would pass – Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who also led opposition to the initial bill, also blasted the new deal. “More debt. More government. Increasing the Credit Card $4 trillion with ZERO spending restraint and cuts. HARD NO,” Roy wrote on X. HOUSE GOP LEADERS SCRAMBLE FOR PLAN B AFTER TRUMP, MUSK LEAD CONSERVATIVE FURY AGAINST SPENDING BILL With $36 trillion in debt and a $1.8 trillion deficit in 2024, some conservatives are against a CR, which punts the funding deadline to March and keeps spending at 2024 levels, entirely. Without conservative Republicans’ votes, Johnson will need to rely on Democrats to help get spending legislation across the House floor.  Trump praised the deal minutes after Fox News Digital reported its contents. The deal also includes aid for farmers and roughly $110 billion in disaster relief funding for Americans impacted by storms Helene and Milton. It would also include certain health care provisions minus reforms to the Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) system that some Republicans and Democrats were pushing for – but others vehemently opposed. Trump said of the deal, “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.” “All Republicans, and even the Democrats, should do what is best for our Country, and vote ‘YES’ for this Bill, TONIGHT!” he wrote. Shortly after Fox News Digital’s report, House leaders released the legislative text of the bill. It came in at about 116 pages, a far cry from their original 1,547-page legislation. It comes after conservatives led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy torpedoed Speaker Mike Johnson’s initial government funding plan on Wednesday, prompting fears of a partial government shutdown right before the holidays. GOP hardliners were furious about what they saw as unrelated measures and policy riders being added to the bill at the last minute. House Republicans began negotiations for a “clean” bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), but those were also upended when Trump urged GOP lawmakers to pair a CR with action on the debt limit – which was expected to be a contentious battle in the first half of next year. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Musk and Ramaswamy also lent their voices to the fight, with Musk calling on any Republican who supported the deal to lose their House seats. In addition to averting a partial government shutdown through March 14, the bill also included a provision to allow for the revitalization of RFK stadium in Washington, D.C.; permits to sell ethanol fuel year-round; and the first pay raise for lawmakers since 2009 – both measures that did not get into the latest deal.