President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan Wednesday to prevent a government shutdown, instead telling House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans to essentially renegotiate — days before a deadline when federal funding runs out.
The sudden, new demands have sent Congress spiraling even as lawmakers are trying to wrap up work and head home for the holidays. Johnson was left to scramble ahead of a Friday deadline for keeping the government open.
Here's the latest:
What is a CR, or continuing resolution?
When Congress is down to the wire on passing measures to fund the federal government, the term “CR” often comes up. What does it mean?
“CR” stands for “continuing resolution,” and it's a temporary spending bill that lets the federal government stay open and operating before Congress and the president have approved a more permanent appropriation.
According to the US Government Accountability Office, CRs typically keep the same level of funding of appropriations from the prior year, or a previously approved CR from the current year.
When would a government shutdown start?
If Congress doesn't approve a continuing resolution or more permanent spending measure by Friday, the federal government could shut down.
This is all happening in part because when the fiscal year ended Sept 30, Congress simply punted the problem by passing a temporary funding bill to keep the government in operation.
That measure expires on Friday.
Trump is vowing to fight until the end. That's likely a long ways off
President-elect Donald Trump says he's determined to “fight 'till the end” to get a debt limit increase from Congress. The end, alas, is probably a long ways off.
Congress last suspended the debt limit to January 2025 as part of a package negotiated by then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Even though the bill was signed into law, some House Republicans said it didn't go far enough, and it ended up costing McCarthy his job when eight Republicans sided with Democrats to oust him.
It took months for McCarthy to negotiate the last deal. Now Trump is looking for Johnson to pass a debt ceiling extension days before a partial government shutdown.
JD Vance met with Mike Johnson for negotiations late into Wednesday night
The House Speaker met behind closed doors late into the night at the Capitol with GOP lawmakers trying to figure out a way out of the bind. Vance joined them until nearly 10 pm, his young son — in pajamas — in tow.
“We had a productive conversation,” Vance said as he and his son exited the speaker's office, declining repeated questions about the details.
“We're in the middle of these negotiations, but I think we'll be able to solve some problems here.”
Trump offers advice for Johnson via Fox
President-elect Donald Trump told Fox News Digital that House Speaker Mike Johnson will “easily remain speaker” for the next Congress if he “acts decisively and tough” and eliminates “all of the traps being set by Democrats” in the spending package.
Fox News Digital spoke exclusively with the president-elect Thursday morning, just hours after the bipartisan deal to avoid a partial government shutdown was killed.
“Anybody that supports a bill that doesn't take care of the Democrat quicksand known as the debt ceiling should be primaried and disposed of as quickly as possible,” Trump told Fox News Digital.
Elon Musk's impact
Already, the massive 1,500-page bill was on the verge of collapse, as hard-right conservatives rejected the increased spending. They were egged on by Trump's billionaire ally Elon Musk, who rejected the plan almost as soon as it was released.
Even the addition of much-needed disaster aid, some $100.4 billion in the aftermath of hurricanes and other natural calamities that ravaged states this year, plus $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers failed to win over the budget-slashing GOP. A number of Republicans had been waiting for Trump to signal whether they should vote yes or no.
“This should not pass,” Musk posted on his social media site X in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.
One lawmaker said office phone lines were flooded with calls from constituents
“My phone was ringing off the hook,” said Rep Andy Barr. “The people who elected us are listening to Elon Musk.”
The Democrats' response
Democrats decried the GOP revolt over the stopgap measure, which would have also provided some $100.4 billion in disaster aid to states hammered by Hurricanes Helene and Milton and other natural disasters.
“House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government and hurt everyday Americans all across this country,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Jeffries said “an agreement is an agreement,” and by backing out of it “the House Republicans “will now own any harm that is visited upon the American people.”
How Trump and Musk stopped the bill in its tracks
President-elect Donald Trump ejected Congress' proposal as full of giveaways to Democrats after billionaire ally Elon Musk whipped up outrage toward the bill and cheered on Republican lawmakers who announced their opposition.
Trump's joint statement with Vice President-elect JD Vance punctuated a daylong torrent of social media posts by Musk attacking the legislation for what he described as excessive spending.
“Stop the steal of your tax dollars!” Musk wrote on his social media platform X as he dangled primary challenges against anyone who voted for the budget deal, a threat Trump later echoed in a post of his own.
The episode showcased the growing political influence of Musk, whom Trump has selected alongside entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to spearhead the Department of Government Efficiency, a nongovernmental task force formed to find ways to fire federal workers, cut programs and reduce regulations.
Biden spokesperson warns of possible shutdown effects
President Joe Biden's White House is blaming Republicans for possible ramifications of a shutdown.
“Republicans need to stop playing politics with this bipartisan agreement or they will hurt hardworking Americans and create instability across the country,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in an evening statement.
Jean-Pierre called on Republicans to “keep their word,” warning that President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance had “ordered Republicans to shut down the government,” actions she said are “undermining communities recovering from disasters, farmers and ranchers, and community health centres.”
With government funding in doubt in the House, senators wait to see what happens — and Trump's reaction
Republicans had mixed reactions to Trump's insistence that an end of the year spending package also boost the debt ceiling to avoid an eventual default. But they generally deferred to the incoming president.
“President Trump has made clear he would like to see that,” said Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso, who will be the No. 2 Republican next year. “I understand his reasoning.”
Dealing with the debt ceiling now could give Trump “some runway to get his agenda implemented,” and Trump doesn't want to be held “hostage” by that issue at the beginning of his term, North Carolina Sen. Ted Budd said. But he added that his state needs disaster money to help with recent flooding that was included in the bipartisan deal: “They need support and they need it right now and they need it this Congress.”
Sen Mike Rounds questioned how Congress could get the debt ceiling extended in two days before funding expires. However, he said, “I'm not sure how we do that.” The process normally takes months to negotiate, and many Republicans oppose increasing the debt limit. Rounds suggested that Congress should deal with it next year instead.
Trump threatens Republicans who support funding measure with primary challenges
Trump is threatening to help mount challenges to any Republicans who “try to pass a clean Continuing Resolution without all of the Democrat bells and whistles.'”
Trump said in a Truth Social post on Wednesday that angling to pass such a measure after Jan 20, when he takes office, would only “bring the mess of the Debt Limit into the Trump Administration, rather than allowing it to take place in the Biden Administration.”
A “clean CR” is essentially a bill that extends existing appropriations, at the same levels as the prior fiscal year.
Trump said in his post that the situation should be dealt with before he takes office, writing, “Any Republican that would be so stupid as to do this should, and will, be Primaried.”
