WASHINGTON – Efforts to prevent the start of a partial government shutdown this weekend collapsed Wednesday as scores of Republicans on and off Capitol Hill expressed frustration over the many unnecessary provisions added to a short-term funding package.
Vice President-elect JD Vance further complicates the situation posted on social media that he and President-elect Donald Trump believe Republicans should exploit the two remaining days before a shutdown to pressure Democrats into raising or suspending the debt limit.
The A general year-end spending bill was released on Tuesday would not only fund the government until March 14, but also provide for an extension of the agriculture and nutrition programs in the farm bill until September 30. The 1,547-page package also includes tens of billions of dollars in emergency aid for communities recovering from natural disasters.
But it includes several sections That has angered far-right members of the Republican Party as well as Trump and his allies. They argue additional provisions that do not relate to vital programs should be eliminated, putting a damper on weeks of negotiations between the Republican House of Representatives and the Democratic Senate.
This is how a shutdown works
Congress must pass a short-term spending bill before midnight Friday, when the current stopgap spending bill expires, otherwise every single federal department and agency would have to close.
That would mean federal employees classified as exempt would have to work without pay and employees classified as non-exempt would be furloughed.
Unlike the 35-day partial government shutdown that occurred during Trump’s first term, this shutdown would affect larger portions of the federal government.
Congress had approved several full-year budget proposals leading up to the 2018-2019 shutdown that isolated the departments of Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, and Labor and Veterans Affairs.
Lawmakers had also approved the legislative spending bill to ensure members of Congress and their staff were paid throughout the lockdown.
This time, failing to pass some sort of stopgap bill before Friday’s midnight deadline would result in U.S. troops being stripped of their pay, not to mention dozens of other national security agencies such as Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
It could also have devastating consequences for the many federal departments and agencies that support communities respond and recover from natural disasters like Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Agriculture and Small Business Administration would all be affected by a funding shortfall, as would anyone who receives funds from these programs.
Debt limit
The debt limit was only part of spending negotiations on Wednesday, when Vance insisted on including it in any kind of stopgap bill.
The current debt limit suspension is set to expire on Jan. 1, but lawmakers will likely have a few months during which the Treasury Department can carry out accounting maneuvers known as extraordinary measures before the country defaults.
Vance, however, appears disinclined to take on the country’s credit bureau next year.
“The stupidest, most clumsy thing Republicans in Congress ever did was allow our country to hit the debt ceiling in 2025,” Vance wrote in his social media post. “It was a mistake and needs to be fixed now.”
Vance wrote that “tackling the debt ceiling is not great, but we would rather do it under Biden’s watch.”
“If Democrats don’t cooperate on the debt ceiling now, what makes anyone think they will in June during our term?” Vance wrote. “Let’s have this debate now. And we should pass a streamlined spending bill that doesn’t give Chuck Schumer and the Democrats everything they want.”
Elon Musk, a billionaire whom Trump hired to make the federal government more capable through drastic spending cuts, wrote on social media that no legislation should pass through Congress before January 20, after Trump’s inauguration.
That would destroy hundreds of government programs, including the agricultural and food assistance programs under the Farm Bill.
“Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in two years!” Musk wrote.
While every House member who chooses to seek re-election will run in the 2026 midterm elections, only a third of the Senate will be up for re-election because they are elected to six-year terms.
North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis posted on social media that any short-term spending bill, sometimes called a “continuing resolution” or “CR,” must include disaster relief to support his home state recover from a devastating hurricane to recover.
“If congressional leaders intend to leave D.C. before the holidays without having passed disaster recovery, they should be prepared to spend Christmas at the Capitol,” Tillis wrote. “I will use every tool available to prevent a CR that will fail Western North Carolina communities that need long-term security.”
Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia said in a brief interview that she wanted the disaster aid to remain in a stopgap bill.
“I went and saw the disaster in Asheville,” she said. “I think we need to get disaster relief to the affected areas, some of which are in West Virginia, believe it or not.”
White House reaction
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre released a written statement Wednesday evening saying: “Republicans must stop playing politics with this bipartisan agreement or they will harm hard-working Americans and create instability across the country .”
“President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Vance have ordered Republicans to shut down the government, and they are threatening to do just that — while undermining communities recovering from disasters, farmers and ranchers, and community health centers,” she wrote. “Triggering a damaging government shutdown would harm families gathering with loved ones and jeopardize the basic services that Americans, from veterans to Social Security recipients, rely on.” A deal is a deal. Republicans should keep their word.”
Last updated on December 18, 2024 at 7:55 p.m
