Trump-backed spending bill collapses as US govt shutdown deadline nears

House Speaker Mike Johnson’s handling of an end-of-year spending deal puts his position at risk ahead of the crucial January 3 Speaker vote. (Photo/AFP)

A short-term spending bill backed by US President-elect Donald Trump has failed in dramatic fashion as a critical deadline to keep the government open rapidly approaches.

The bill, known as the American Relief Act of 2024, was rejected 174-235 on Thursday night with one Democrat abstaining as it failed to gain even a simple majority in the chamber controlled by Republicans. Under rules that fast-track such legislation, the bill needed two-thirds support to pass.

House Speaker Mike Johnson put it forward after Trump and his senior lieutenants, including tech billionaire Elon Musk, rallied Republicans against a bipartisan spending package that would fund the government through March 14, torpedoing the legislation after months of negotiations with a midnight Friday deadline just one day away.

Earlier in the day Trump had announced "success" in coming up with a new plan to fund the government and lift the debt ceiling a day before a government shutdown.

Trump's social media post landed as Republicans said they had narrowed in on a tentative accord after grueling closed-door talks. The new plan would keep government running for three more months, add disaster assistance for hurricane-hit states and others, and allow more borrowing through Jan. 30, 2027, Republicans said.

"SUCCESS in Washington! Speaker Mike Johnson and the House have come to a very good Deal," Trump posted.

A government shutdown at risk, Johnson has been fighting to figure out how to meet Trump's sudden demands — and keep his own job — while federal offices are being told to prepare to shutter operations ahead of Friday's midnight deadline.

Trump said early on Thursday that Johnson will “easily remain speaker” for the next Congress if he “acts decisively and tough” in coming up with a new plan to also increase the debt limit, a stunning request just before the Christmas holidays.

And if not , the president-elect warned of trouble ahead for Johnson and Republicans in Congress.

"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.

The tumultuous turn of events, coming just before Friday's midnight deadline to fund the government and as lawmakers were preparing to head home for the holidays, sparks a familiar reminder of what it's like in Trump-run Washington.

Trump led Republicans into the longest government shutdown in history during the 2018 Christmas season, and interrupted the holidays in 2020 by tanking a bipartisan COVID-relief bill and forcing a do-over.

For Johnson, who faces his own problems ahead of a Jan. 3 House vote to remain speaker, Trump's demands kept him working long into the night to broker a new deal. Vice President-elect JD Vance joined the late-night meetings at the Capitol, bringing his young son in pyjamas.

"We had a productive meeting. We're going to continue to work through the night, in the morning to get, to get an agreement," said Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., as he left the speaker's office late Wednesday.

But adding an increase in the debt ceiling to what had been a bipartisan package is a show-stopper for Republicans who routinely vote against more borrowing. The current debt limit expires on Jan. 1 2025 and threatens to bog down the start of the new administration with months of negotiations to raise it. Trump wants the problem off the table before he joins the White House.

As senior Republicans broke from a Thursday morning meeting in the House speaker's office there was no resolution yet.

Rep. Tom Emmer, the third-ranking Republican in leadership, said the situation was "fluid."

Federal funding is scheduled to expire at midnight Friday, a current temporary government funding bill running out as Congress was preparing a new one to keep things running for a few months.

The bipartisan compromise brokered between Johnson and the Democrats, whose support will be needed in the deeply split House and Senate to ensure passage, also tacked on much-anticipated disaster aid — $100.4 billion for states hard hit by Hurricanes Helen and Milton and other n atural calamities.

But the 1,500-page bill outraged conservatives for its spending and extras. Musk, in his new foray into politics, led the charge. The wealthiest man in the world used his social media platform X to amplify the unrest, and GOP lawmakers were besieged with phone calls to their offices telling them to oppose the plan.

Trump announced his own displeasure late Wednesday, and told Johnson to start over — with the new demand on the debt limit, something that generally takes months to negotiate and that his own party generally opposes.

House Democrats emerged from a closed-door meeting Thursday angry about the collapse of bipartisan legislation, saying a deal is a deal and they were standing by the agreement they reached with Johnson and Republicans.

Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Trump’s new demands for a debt limit increase are “premature.”

Scalise said he understands Trump “wants to start the presidency on a sound footing and we want him to as well."

But, Scalise said, "obviously we’ve got to get through this first and we’re going t o get it resolved, hopefully tomorrow.”

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Source: TRT