House Republicans have reached another deal on a spending bill aimed at avoiding a government shutdown. Lawmakers announced the deal on Thursday, days after a 1,574-page continuing resolution introduced on Tuesday failed.
President-elect Donald Trump, one of the leading critics of the first measure, celebrated the new deal and urged Congress to pass it. The new measure removes much of what was in the first bill but keeps many key provisions.
Republicans have struck a deal on a short-term government spending patch and potential debt limit increase, according to two GOP lawmakers meeting in Speaker Mike Johnson’s office Thursday afternoon.
“There is an agreement,” said Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.). Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) confirmed there was a deal among Republicans, though the news caught House Democrats by surprise.
The plan Johnson is expected to put on the House floor later Thursday includes, according to three Republicans familiar with the deal, a stopgap measure that funds the government through mid-March, a clean farm bill extension, the $110 billion disaster aid package previously negotiated with Democrats, clean health care provision extenders and a two-year suspension of the debt limit, kicking a new deadline into January 2027.
The plan includes a stopgap measure that would fund the government through mid-March. It would also extend the farm bill and include a $110 billion disaster aid package. It would also extend health care provisions while suspending the debt limit for two years, an idea that Trump has championed.
The president-elect celebrated the new spending package in a post on Truth Social.
SUCCESS in Washington!
Speaker Mike Johnson and the House have come to a very good Deal for the American People. The newly agreed to American Relief Act of 2024 will keep the Government open, fund our Great Farmers and others, and provide relief for those severely impacted by the devastating hurricanes.
A VERY important piece, VITAL to the America First Agenda, was added as well - The date of the very unnecessary Debt Ceiling will be pushed out two years, to January 30, 2027. Now we can Make America Great Again, very quickly, which is what the People gave us a mandate to accomplish.
All Republicans, and even the Democrats, should do what is best for our Country, and vote “YES” for this Bill, TONIGHT!
Provisions that would give lawmakers a significant pay raise and allow year-round sales of gasoline with a higher blend of ethanol were stripped from the bill. The bill will be called the American Relief Act. House Republicans indicated they plan to vote on the new bill on Thursday evening with the Friday deadline looming in the background.
It is unclear how Democrats will vote on this measure as they were not included in the negotiations. However, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) indicated earlier on Thursday that raising the debt ceiling is a “hard pass.”
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), a conservative hardliner, slammed the new bill during an appearance on The Sean Hannity show. “It’s a watered-down version of the same crappy bill people were mad about yesterday,” he said.