The government shutdown fiasco has some Republican lawmakers worried about how they will push President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda when he takes office, reports the Hill.
A shutdown was averted early Saturday when the Senate rushed through final passage of a bipartisan plan that would temporarily fund federal operations and disaster aid. Not included in the package: Trump’s demands for a debt limit increase into the new year.
The final product was the third attempt from House Speaker Mike Johnson, who insisted Congress would “meet our obligations” and not allow federal operations to shutter ahead of the Christmas holiday season. The day’s outcome was uncertain after Trump doubled down on his insistence that a debt ceiling increase be included in any deal — if not, he said in an early morning post, let the closures “start now.”
The House approved Johnson’s new bill overwhelmingly, 366-34. The Senate worked into the night to pass it, 85-11, just after the deadline. At midnight, the White House said it had ceased shutdown preparations.
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told the Hill that Johnson will face a huge challenge in 2025 as Republicans will only have a majority of one, two or three seats.
“It’s going to be really hard in the House because they just simply don’t have a working majority,” he said.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, told the news outlet that that “reconciliation is not easy,” referring to the special budgetary process that can be used to circumvent a Senate filibuster.
“It’s hard to fit things in,” she said. “We’ve seen that demonstrated before. … Next year’s going to be challenging,” she added.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told the Hill the collapse of the first stopgap funding bill was an “embarrassment” and said he has “zero” confidence in Johnson.
“If they can’t manage the CR, how is he going to manage reconciliation? It’s bad. It bodes badly,” Hawley said of Johnson’s handling of the year-end bill.
“I don’t have a vote in the House but I’d strongly urge them to choose someone competent,” he said.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, echoed similar concerns.
“We’re going to need new leadership. We’ve got new leadership in the Senate in the coming year. And I believe that the writing’s on the wall, unless I’m just mistaken, it seems to me that new leadership in the House is almost inevitable,” Lee told “The Benny Show.”