Sheet The Hill On December 19, it was reported that US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson is considering “plan B” on funding the country’s government operations, after a spending bill was rejected under the influence of the President-elect. Donald Trump. Sources said the new plan includes removing additional provisions in the 1,500-page plan, including provisions for natural disaster prevention and support for farmers. If Congress cannot agree on a spending plan, the US government will not have the budget to continue operating from 0:00 on December 21.
Mr. Trump spoke at a press conference in Florida on December 16
Debt ceiling key
Previously, Democratic and Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives introduced a temporary budget bill, with the content of extending the government’s budget until mid-March 2025. The bill would fund government agencies at current levels and more than $100 billion to assist states affected by natural disasters, in addition to $10 billion to support the agricultural sector. In addition, according to The Washington Post, the bill also includes other provisions that are prioritized by Democrats such as salary increases for congressmen and new regulations for health care plan managers.
However, the central issue that Mr. Trump criticized was the public debt ceiling. Mr. Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance issued a joint statement emphasizing the importance of raising the debt ceiling at this time with a reasonable spending bill. “Anything else is a betrayal of our country,” according to the statement. Currently, the US public debt ceiling has been suspended since June 2023 and will re-apply from January 2, 2025. The US public debt level is currently 36,200 billion USD, according to CNN.
The White House criticized
Reacting after the bill was rejected, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre criticized Mr. Trump and the Republicans for wanting the government to be shut down. “Republicans need to stop playing politics with this bipartisan agreement. Otherwise, they will hurt hardworking Americans and cause instability across the country,” according to the statement. Ms. Jean-Pierre warned that the government shutdown will hurt people during the holidays, threatening basic services from veterans to social security recipients. “A deal is a deal. Republicans should keep their word,” she urged.
Without a bill passed by Congress, the US government will begin a partial shutdown on December 21, disrupting everything from civil aviation to law enforcement, right before Christmas. The last time the US government shut down was from December 22, 2018 – January 25, 2019 during Mr. Trump’s first term. After meeting Mr. Vance and top Republican leaders on the evening of December 18 (local time), Mr. Johnson said he had a “productive conversation”, although he did not give details. When asked whether the deal on the table would include raising the debt ceiling, House Republican leader Steve Scalise said lawmakers “haven’t gotten there yet.”
Impact of billionaire Elon Musk
Billionaire Elon Musk, whom Mr. Trump chose to lead the Government Effectiveness Committee, spoke out strongly against the above government spending bill. Among a series of posts criticizing the bill written on his social network in the ballot two years from now.” After the bill was rejected, Mr. Musk continued to write that “your elected lawmakers listened and now that terrible bill is dead. The voice of the people has won.”
