Government funding plan collapses as Trump makes new demands days before shutdown

WASHINGTON (AP) President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan Wednesday to prevent a Christmas government shutdown, instead asking House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans to essentially renegotiate days before a deadline when federal funding will be exhausted.

Trump's sudden entry into the debate and his new demands have sent Congress spiraling as lawmakers try to finish their work and return home for the holidays. That leaves Johnson scrambling to come up with a new plan before Friday's deadline to keep the government open.

Republicans must get smart and get tough, Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance said in a statement.

The president-elect has made a nearly unrealistic proposal that combines maintaining public funds to some extent with a much more controversial provision to raise the national debt ceiling, something his own party consistently rejects. Anything else is a betrayal of our country, they wrote.

Democrats denounced the Republican Party's revolt over the stopgap measure, which also would have provided some $100 billion in aid to states hit by Hurricanes Helene and Milton and other natural disasters.

House Republicans have been ordered to dissolve the government, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said.

And hurt the American working class they claim to support. You break the bipartisan agreement, you assume the consequences that flow from it.

Already, the massive 1,500-page bill was on the verge of collapse as far-right conservatives rejected increased spending, egged on by Trump's billionaire ally Elon Musk, who rejected the plan almost immediately after it was released Tuesday evening.

Rank-and-file lawmakers have complained about the extra spending that includes their first pay raises in more than a decade, a shock after one of the most unproductive chaotic sessions in modern times. A number of Republicans were waiting for Trump to let them know whether they should vote yes or no.

Even adding much-needed disaster aid, some $100.4 billion in the wake of hurricanes and other natural calamities that ravaged states this year, as well as $10 billion in economic aid to farmers failed to convince the Republican Party, which reduced its budget.

This should not pass, Musk posted on his social networking site X in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The result comes as no surprise to Johnson, who, like other Republican House speakers before him, failed to convince his majority to comply with the routine needs of federal government operations, which they would prefer reduce.

All of this shows how difficult it will be for Republicans next year, as they take control of the House, Senate and White House, to unify and lead the nation. And it underscores the extent to which Johnson and GOP leaders must count on Trump's blessing to see any legislative package cross the finish line.

What does President Trump want Republicans to do: vote for CR or dismantle the government? In the absence of leadership, confusion reigns, outgoing Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said in an article on X.

Musk, who heads the new Department of Government Efficiency and led the charge against the plan, warned that any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years !

This is not an idle threat coming from Musk, the richest man in the world, who helped finance Trump's victory and who can easily use his US PAC to make or break a political career.

Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland said that's the problem with an oligarchy: A handful of rich people run everything and everyone is supposed to live in fear of them; and their wealth becomes an instrument of coercive power over everything.

Democrats, who negotiated the final product with Johnson and Senate Republican leaders, will need to provide enough support to help Johnson secure passage, as is often the case with big bills. Funding from the federal government runs out at midnight Friday.

The sooner Congress acts, the better, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said.

The final package extends existing government programs and services at their current operating levels for a few more months, until March 14, 2025.

This interim measure is necessary because Congress has failed to pass its annual appropriations bills to fund all of the federal government's various agencies, from the Pentagon and national security apparatuses, to health care, l social assistance, transport and other common household services. When the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, Congress simply fixed the problem by passing a temporary funding bill that expires Friday.

But this inches-thick bill goes beyond routine funding and adds to several other measures that lawmakers are trying to pass before the end of this session of Congress, especially as some elected officials will not return in the new year.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., called it essentially a junk sandwich, using a swear word. Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., said many lawmakers “are a little disappointed with how the last week has gone.

And then there is the salary increase.

Some lawmakers have expressed concern that the bill removes a wage freeze provision that was included in the previous short-term spending measure. This change could allow for a maximum salary adjustment of 3.8% or $6,600 in 2025, bringing their annual salary to $180,600, according to a Congressional Research Service report.

Members of Congress last got a raise in 2009, when pay rose 2.8 percent to $174,000 a year. If members' compensation had not been frozen since 2009, salaries would be approximately $217,900.

Adjusted for inflation, wages fell about 31 percent from 2009, according to the research report.

How much do we deserve a pay rise? said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C.

Among other provisions of the package is full federal funding to rebuild Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed when it was hit by a cargo ship that reported a loss of power just before the crash. Federal taxpayers will be reimbursed through proceeds from insurance payments and litigation.

And there is also a provision to transfer the land on which the old RFK Stadium sits from the federal government to the District of Columbia, which could potentially lead to a new stadium for the Washington Commanders.

On the health care front, the legislation aims to expand coverage of telehealth appointments for Medicare enrollees and control the amount of pharmaceutical profits that companies negotiate how and which drugs are covered by health care plans. insurance conclude with these agreements.

The bill also includes provisions focused on countering China, including expanding President Joe Biden's executive order that aims to restrict investments in countries that pose a threat to U.S. national security. Blocking China's high-tech ambitions is one of the few issues that enjoys broad support in Washington, from both Republicans and Democrats.

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Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.

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