House Republicans strike agreement to forestall government shutdown – and Trump wants it to pass tonight

Due to House rules, a proposal that doesn’t pass through the committee will need to garner two-thirds support from the lower chamber, meaning some Democrats will have to cross the aisle to vote in favor of the funding extension.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had hunkered down in his office through Thursday with a slew of Republican lawmakers filtering in and out of his office.

Trump, who had come out against the prior government funding plan on Wednesday, had been kept in the loop on the deal both via staff and directly, according to lawmakers involved with discussions.

“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,” Trump added.

News of the agreement came as the House Freedom Caucus was meeting and game-planning the situation. Leadership is seemingly keen on trying to rush the agreement through as quickly as possible.

Johnson had previously indicated he hoped to adhere to the 72-hour rule intended to give members time to parse through the text of any deal. However, the odds of that happening grew increasingly unlikely after the prior 1,547-page bill got tanked.

The new deal would cut out provisions of the prior one, including a pay hike for members of Congress, up to $2 billion in funding for the Francis Scott Key Bridge, reforms aimed at cracking down on pharmaceutical benefit managers and more.

After slapping down the prior government funding plan, Trump called upon Congress to address the debt limit, which was under suspension until early next year.

That splintered hardline Republicans, who had also raged against the initial deal.

“It’s a water downed version of the same crappy bill people were mad about yesterday,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) fumed to reporters after details of the deal trickled out.

Now, the debt ceiling will be suspended until Jan. 30, 2027, if the measure passes.

Roy had been in and out of Johnson’s office on Thursday and Trump lashed out against him on Truth Social. The president-elect had previously been furious with him for backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in the 2024 GOP primary.

Democrats so far have been coy about whether they will play ball.

“House Democrats are going to continue to fight for families, farmers and the future of working-class Americans,” House Minority Leader Hakeem (D-NY) told reporters Thursday. “And in order to do that, the best path forward is the bipartisan agreement that we negotiated.”

Should Congress fail to act, the government will enter a partial shutdown after midnight Friday.

Several Republicans who exited Johnson’s office Thursday had indicated they wanted disaster relief and aid to farmers to be included in any package.

The measure will need to clear the Senate and get President Biden’s signature to go into effect.