A spending bill backed by Donald Trump failed in the US House of Representatives on Thursday as dozens of Republicans opposed the US president-elect, leaving Congress without a clear plan to avoid a rapidly approaching government shutdown that could disrupt holiday travel.
The vote exposed flaws in Trump's Republican Party that could resurface next year when its members take control of the White House and both houses of Congress.
Trump has pressed lawmakers to tie up loose threads before he takes office on Jan. 20, but members of the party's right flank have refused to support a package that boosts spending and clears the way for a plan that will add trillions more to the federal budget, bringing the U.S. debt to $36 trillion.
“I am absolutely disgusted with the party that is campaigning on fiscal responsibility,” said Rep. Chip Roy, one of 38 Republicans who voted against the bill.
The package crashes a few hours after assembly
He rejected the package by a 174-235 vote just hours after it was hastily filed by Republican leaders eager to meet Trump's demands. AND the previous bilateral agreement was broken after Trump and the world's richest man, Elon Musk, spoke out against him on Wednesday.
Government funding will end at midnight on Friday. If lawmakers don't extend the deadline, the U.S. government will begin a partial shutdown that would interrupt funding for everything from border control to national parks and cut off paychecks to more than two million federal workers. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration warned that travelers could face long lines at airports during the busy holiday season.
The bill that failed on Thursday largely resembled an earlier version that Musk and Trump criticized as a waste for Democrats. It would extend government funding through March and provide $100 billion in disaster relief, as well as a debt suspension. Republicans abandoned other elements included in the original package, such as a raise for lawmakers and new rules for pharmacy benefit managers.
At Trump's urging, the new version would also suspend national debt limits for two years, making it easier to pass the sweeping tax cuts he promised.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters the package would prevent disruption, tie up loose ends and make it easier for lawmakers to cut hundreds of billions of dollars in spending when Trump takes office next year.
“The government is too big, it does too many things, and it doesn't do many things right,” he said.
Democrats reject the bill
Democrats have sharply criticized the bill as cover for a budget-wrecking tax cut that would largely benefit the bill's wealthy backers like Musk while burdening the country with trillions of dollars in additional debt.
“How dare you even lecture America about fiscal responsibility?” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said during the debate.
Even if the bill passed the House, it would have a good chance in the Senate, which is currently controlled by Democrats. The White House said US President Joe Biden does not support it.
Previous fights over the debt ceiling have spooked financial markets because a U.S. government default would trigger credit shocks around the world. The cap was suspended under an agreement that technically expires on Jan. 1, though lawmakers likely won't have to address the issue until spring.
Once back in office, Trump intends to enact tax cuts that could reduce revenues by $8 trillion over 10 years, increasing debt without offsetting spending cuts. He said he would not cut pension and health benefits for seniors, which make up a large part of the budget and are expected to increase dramatically in the coming years.
The latest government shutdown has occurred in December 2018 and January 2019, during Trump's first term in the White House.
The unrest also threatened to overthrow Johnson, a mild-mannered Louisianan thrown unexpectedly into the speaker's office last year on the right flank of the party then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy voted regarding the government bill on financing. Johnson repeatedly had to turn to Democrats for help passing legislation when he was unable to secure votes from his own party.
On Thursday, he tried the same maneuver, but this time it failed.
Several Republicans have said they will not vote for Johnson as speaker when Congress returns in January, a move that could spark another tense leadership battle just weeks before Trump takes office.