The Latest: Time is running short to avert a government shutdown after funding bill is rejected

A day before a potential government shutdown, the House rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s new plan Thursday to fund operations and suspend the debt ceiling, as Democrats and dozens of Republicans refused to accommodate his sudden demands.

Here’s the latest:

Top House Democrat lays blame for looming shutdown on ‘billionaire donors’

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries laid blame for the failure of a package to fund the federal government on Republican donors and the GOP’s economic agenda.

“Republicans would rather cut taxes for billionaire donors than fund research for children with cancer,” Jeffries, D-N.Y., wrote on the social media platform Bluesky.

The House Democrat’s leader further predicted a government shutdown “will crash the economy, hurt working class Americans and likely be the longest in history.”

“Welcome back to the MAGA swamp,” he concluded.

Far-right members make an early morning visit to Johnson’s office

Before 9 a.m., a number of the speaker’s biggest critics brought their grievances to a private meeting as a shutdown deadline looms over Capitol Hill. Reps. Chip Roy, Andy Biggs, Bob Good and others, all who voted against the Trump-backed plan Thursday, met with Johnson as Republicans look for a way forward on a short-term spending deal that includes a suspension of the nation’s debt limit.

Good of Virginia came out and said he would surprised if there was a vote Friday on any path forward. Moments later, Rep. Lauren Boebert said Republicans were making progress and having Vice President-elect JD Vance in the room is helping move things toward a resolution that can get a majority on the floor.

“I think President Trump was possibly, sold a bad bill yesterday,” the Colorado lawmaker said. “I did not want to see a failure on the House floor for the first demand that President Trump is making.”

But, she added, the failure on the floor has forced many of her colleagues to come together Friday.

Trump ally Steven Bannon says Speaker Johnson ‘is not up to the task’

As the speaker twisted Thursday in Washington, his peril was on display at Turning Point USA’s conservative AmericaFest confab, where Trump ally and 2016 campaign architect Steven Bannon stirred thousands with a takedown of the Louisiana Republican.

“Clearly, Johnson is not up to the task. He’s gotta go. He’s gotta go,” Bannon said, drawing cheers and whistles.

Bannon, both a bellwether of and influencer on the mood among Trump’s core supporters, wasn’t done.

“He doesn’t have what we call the right stuff — that combination of guts and moxie and savvy and toughness,” he said, comparing Johnson, a reserved, polite lawyer, to the gleeful brutishness of the president-elect and his populist backers. “You can punch MAGA in the face and they’re going to get up off the canvas, and they’re going to punch you back three times harder.”

Bannon didn’t float a replacement for Johnson but emphasized that the job description for any speaker — and every other Republican in Washington — is simple: “We have nothing to discuss. It’s only about the execution of President Trump’s plan.”

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats are sticking with the original deal

And he called Thursday’s proposed deal “laughable.”

“It’s not a serious proposal,” Jeffries said as he walked to Democrats’ own closed-door caucus meeting. Inside, Democrats were chanting, “Hell, no!”

What House Republicans were saying Thursday night

Coming and going outside Speaker Mike Johnson’s office Thursday night, House Republicans offered little clarity on a path forward for a budget deal after a Trump-endorsed proposal failed to pass.

Rep. Kat Cammack, a Republican who voted against the bill, told reporters that “this was not an easy vote for constitutional conservatives.” She added, “We’re going to work through the night and figure out a plan.”

“We are still working diligently. and we are still making progress,” Rep. Lisa McClain said, without offering further details.

“We tried several things today most of our members went for, but the Democrats decided that they want to try and shut it down, but we’re going to keep working,” Rep. Steve Scalise, the Republican majority leader, told reporters. Nearly three dozen Republicans joined Democrats in voting down the resolution.

Harris cancels trip and will stay in Washington as shutdown looms

Vice President Kamala Harris cancelled a planned trip to Los Angeles with Washington on the verge of a government shutdown.

She had been scheduled to travel to her home state late Thursday, but instead will remain in the capital, the White House said, after Republicans backed away from a bipartisan compromise to fund the government.

Bill fails in House, next steps remain uncertain

The House rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s new plan Thursday to fund operations and suspend the debt ceiling.

In a hastily convened evening vote punctuated by angry outbursts over the self-made crisis, the lawmakers failed to reach the two-thirds threshold needed for passage — but House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared determined to reassess, before Friday’s midnight deadline.

“We’re going to regroup and we will come up with another solution, so stay tuned,” Johnson said after the vote. The cobbled-together plan didn’t even get a majority, with the bill failing 174-235.

The outcome proved a massive setback for Trump and his billionaire ally, Elon Musk, who rampaged against Johnson’s bipartisan compromise, which Republicans and Democrats had reached earlier to prevent a Christmastime government shutdown.

▶ Read more about the vote and where things stand

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