House Republicans on Thursday announced they have reached agreement on a Plan B to avert a government shutdown by Friday midnight, a bill touted by President-elect Donald Trump.
"SUCCESS in Washington!" Trump said in a post to Truth Social.
“We have reached an agreement and details will be forthcoming,” House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole, R-Okla., said after leaving House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office.
The full House could vote later Thursday.
According to multiple reports, the funding bill includes:
- A clean three-month extension;
- A two-year suspension of debt limit to January 2027;
- A farm bill extension — $110 billion disaster relief package, which includes $10 billion in aid for farmers
"Speaker Mike Johnson and the House have come to a very good Deal for the American People. 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 said in the post.
Punchbowl News reported House Democrats are meeting late Thursday afternoon.
The stopgap funding bill stripped many of the new policy provisions that Trump torpedoed on Wednesday, including a pay raise for lawmakers and the E15 ethanol provision, The Hill reported.
While earlier reports said that Trump’s desire for the debt ceiling to be raised in a new continuing resolution would be put off with an eye toward raising the borrowing limit twice in 2025, the new bill suspends the debt ceiling altogether.
"A VERY important piece, VITAL to the America First Agenda, was added as well - The date of the very unnecessary Debt Ceiling will be pushed out two years, to January 30, 2027. Now we can Make America Great Again, very quickly, which is what the People gave us a mandate to accomplish," Trump said in the post.
Johnson and House GOP leadership scrambled to put together a Plan B after Elon Musk on Wednesday led a chorus of opposition against the first iteration of the CR in a series of tweets.
Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance later Wednesday released a joint statement demanding Congress increase the debt ceiling while slamming the first iteration of the stopgap funding bill supported — and later scrapped — by Johnson.
The Hill reported that James Braid, Trump’s incoming director of legislative affairs, had been going in and out of Johnson’s office on Thursday and was involved in budget discussions.
The new funding bill also likely bolsters Johnson's chances of remaining House speaker.
Trump told Fox News on Thursday morning that Johnson will "easily remain speaker," provided he "acts decisively and tough and gets rid of all the traps being set by Democrats."
This story has been updated.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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