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House Democrats are resisting the latest iteration of a spending plan that was released Thursday by the president Mike Johnson, R-La.
“The Musk-Johnson proposal is not serious, it’s laughable. Extreme MAGA Republicans are leading us into a government shutdown,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, DN.Y.
Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., indicated that the Democratic leadership would whip its members to vote “no” on the deal.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., lamented that the latest deal was blown up by opposition from conservatives, with input from Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
“Everybody agreed,” he said, “and then it was exploited by Elon Musk, who has apparently become the fourth branch of government. And that’s just an intolerable way to proceed.”
“Democrats are going to try to figure out how we can save the public good as the scraps that were just pushed around,” Raskin said.
HERE’S WHAT HAPPENS DURING A PARTIAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
“The Musk-Johnson proposal is not serious, it’s laughable. Extreme MAGA Republicans are leading us into a government shutdown,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, DN.Y. (Getty Images)
Cries of “hell no” were heard inside the room where the Democrats were meeting after the text of the bill was released.
The most recent continuing resolution, or CR, would extend current levels of government funding for three months and also suspend the debt limit for two years, which President-elect Trump has demanded.
It comes after the original 1,500-page CR attracted opposition from the right, due to politics and funding corridors.
House lawmakers could vote on the new bill as early as Thursday evening.
It was not immediately clear whether the new deal would pass: Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who also led opposition to the original bill, also criticized the new deal.
“More debt. More government. Credit card increase $4 trillion with ZERO spending restraint and cuts. HARD NO,” Roy wrote to X.
with $36 trillion in debt and a $1.8 trillion deficit by 2024, some conservatives are against a CR, which sets the funding deadline through March and keeps spending at 2024 levels, entirely.
Without the votes of conservative Republicans, Johnson will have to rely on Democrats to help push spending legislation through the House.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., lamented that the latest deal was blown up by opposition from conservatives, with input from Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump praised the deal minutes after Fox News Digital reported its contents.
The deal also includes aid for farmers and approximately $110 billion in disaster relief funding for Americans affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
It would also include certain health care provisions minus reforms to the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) 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 recently passed American Relief Act of 2024 will keep the government open, fund our great farmers and others and will provide relief for those severely affected by the devastating hurricanes.”
“All Republicans, and even Democrats, should do what’s best for our country, and vote ‘YES’ on this bill, tonight!” he wrote
Shortly after Fox News Digital’s report, House leaders released the legislative text of the bill. It was about 116 pages long, a far cry from its original legislation of 1,547 pages.
House Democrats are resisting the latest iteration of a spending plan that was released Thursday by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
It comes after conservatives led by Musk and Ramaswamy torpedoed the Johnson government’s initial funding plan on Wednesday, prompting fears of a partial government shutdown just before the holidays.
GOP hardliners were furious over what they saw as unrelated measures and policy tweaks being added to the bill at the last minute.
House Republicans began negotiations for a “clean” bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), but also shifted 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.
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Musk and Ramaswamy also lent his voice to the fight, with Musk calling on any Republican who supported the deal to lose his seat in the House.
In addition to averting a partial government shutdown until March 14, the bill also included a provision to allow 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 make it into the latest deal.
