WASHINGTON – Efforts to prevent a partial government shutdown from going into effect this weekend fizzled out Wednesday as many Republicans on Capitol Hill and beyond expressed frustration with a host of extraneous provisions added to the short-term funding package.
To complicate matters, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance published on social media that he and President-elect Donald Trump believe Republicans should apply the two days left in the shutdown to push Democrats to raise or suspend the debt limit.
The Comprehensive year-end spending rules were published on Tuesday not only would it fund the government through March 14, but it would provide an extension of the farm bill’s agricultural and nutrition programs through 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 contains several sections that angered far-right members of the Republican Party as well as Trump and his allies. They argue additional provisions that don’t address core programs should be thrown out, disrupting weeks of negotiations between the Republican House and Democratic Senate.
How closure works
Congress must pass a short-term spending bill before midnight Friday, when the current stop-gap spending bill expires, or every federal department and agency would have to shut down.
This would mean that 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 the first Trump administration, this shutdown would affect much of the federal government.
Congress approved several full-year appropriations bills ahead of the 2018-2019 shutdown, isolating the departments of Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Labor, and Veterans Affairs.
Lawmakers also approved a Legislative Branch spending bill ensuring members of Congress and their staff are paid throughout the shutdown.
This time, failing to approve some stopgap spending bill before midnight Friday would mean cutting off the pay of U.S. troops, not to mention dozens of other national security agencies such as Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
It could also wreak havoc on numerous federal departments and agencies that assist communities with response and recovery efforts resulting from natural disasters, including hurricanes Helene and Milton.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Agriculture and the Small Business Administration will feel the loss of funds, as will anyone who receives funds from these programs.
Debt limit
The debt limit was not part of spending negotiations until Wednesday, when Vance insisted it be included in any interim spending bill.
The current debt ceiling suspension is set to expire on Jan. 1, but lawmakers will likely have several months during which the Treasury Department can apply accounting maneuvers known as emergency measures before the country becomes insolvent.
Vance, however, does not appear willing to talk to national lending authorities next year.
“The most stupid and inept thing Republicans in Congress have ever done is allow our country to hit the debt ceiling in 2025.” Vance wrote in his social media post. “It was a mistake and now needs to be addressed.”
Vance wrote that addressing “the debt ceiling is not a big deal, but we would prefer to do it under a Biden administration.”
“If Democrats won’t cooperate on the debt ceiling now, what makes anyone think they will in June under our administration?” Vance wrote. “Let’s have this debate now. We should pass a streamlined spending bill that doesn’t give Chuck Schumer and the Democrats everything they want.”
Elon Musk, the billionaire whom Trump has tasked with making the federal government more proficient by sharply cutting spending, – he wrote on social media that no legislation should advance through Congress until January 20, after Trump’s inauguration.
This would wreak havoc on hundreds of government programs, including agricultural and nutrition assistance programs under the Farm Bill.
“Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous budget bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” – Musk wrote.
While every House member who decides to run for re-election will campaign in the 2026 midterm elections, only one-third of the Senate will be up for re-election because they are elected to six-year terms.
North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis posted on social media that any short-term spending bill, sometimes called a continuing resolution or CR, must include disaster relief to lend a hand his home state recover from a devastating hurricane.
“If congressional leaders intend to leave D.C. before the holidays without completing disaster recovery efforts, they should be prepared to spend Christmas on Capitol Hill,” Tillis wrote. “I will use every tool at my disposal to block a CR that will fail communities in Western North Carolina that need long-term certainty.”
West Virginia Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said in a brief interview that she wants disaster aid to remain in the stopgap spending bill.
“I went down and saw the Asheville disaster,” she said. “I think we need to provide disaster assistance to affected areas, some of which are in West Virginia, believe it or not.”
White House reaction
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre issued a written statement Wednesday evening saying that “Republicans must stop playing politics with this bipartisan agreement or they will hurt hardworking Americans and create instability across the country.”
“President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Vance have ordered Republicans to shut down the government and are threatening to do just that, while undermining communities recovering from natural disasters, farmers and ranchers, and community health centers,” she wrote. “Triggering a harmful government shutdown would harm families who gather to see loved ones and threaten essential services that Americans rely on, from veterans to Social Security recipients. A deal is a deal. Republicans should keep their word.”
Last updated at 19:55, December 18, 2024
