WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� A , House Speaker is fighting to figure out how to meet President-elect sudden demands 鈥� and keep his own job 鈥� while federal offices are being told to prepare to shutter operations ahead of Friday's midnight deadline.
Trump said early Thursday that Johnson will 鈥渆asily remain speaker鈥� for the next Congress if he 鈥渁cts decisively and tough鈥� in coming up with a new plan to also , a stunning request just before the Christmas holidays that has put the in a bind.
And if not, the president-elect warned of for Johnson and Republicans in Congress.
鈥淎nybody that supports a bill that doesn鈥檛 take care of the Democrat quicksand known as the debt ceiling should be primaried and disposed of as quickly as possible,鈥� Trump told Fox News Digital.
The , coming days before Friday's midnight deadline to fund the government and as lawmakers were preparing to head home for the holidays, sparks a familiar reminder of what it's like in Trump-run Washington. Trump led Republicans into the longest government shutdown in history during the 2018 Christmas season, and interrupted the holidays in 2020 by tanking a bipartisan Covid-relief bill and forcing a do-over.
For Johnson, who faces his own problems ahead of a Jan. 3 House vote to remain speaker, kept him working long into the night to broker a new deal. Vice President-elect joined the late-night meetings at the Capitol, bringing his young son in pajamas.
Trump鈥檚 allies even floated the far-fetched idea of giving billionaire the speaker鈥檚 gavel, since the speaker is not required to be a member of the Congress.
鈥淲e had a productive meeting. We're going to continue to work through the night, in the morning to get, to get an agreement,鈥� said Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., as he left the speaker's office late Wednesday.
But adding an increase in the debt ceiling to the package is a show-stopper for Republicans who routinely vote against more borrowing. The current debt limit expires in 2025 and Trump wants it off the table before he joins the White House.
As senior Republicans broke from a Thursday morning meeting in the House speaker鈥檚 office there was no resolution yet.
Rep. Tom Emmer, the third-ranking Republican in leadership, said the situation was 鈥渇luid.鈥�
Federal funding is scheduled to expire at midnight Friday, a current temporary government funding bill running out as Congress was preparing a new one to keep things running for a few months.
The bipartisan compromise brokered between Johnson and the Democrats, whose support will be needed in the deeply split House and Senate to ensure passage, also tacked on much-anticipated disaster aid 鈥� $100.4 billion for states hard hit by Hurricanes Helen and Milton and other natural calamities.
But the 1,500-page bill outraged conservatives for its spending and extras. Musk, in his new foray into politics, led the charge. The wealthiest man in the world used his social media platform X to amplify the unrest, and GOP lawmakers were besieged with phone calls to their offices telling them to oppose the plan.
Trump announced his own displeasure late Wednesday, and told Johnson to start over 鈥� with the new demand on the debt limit, something that generally takes months to negotiate and that his own party generally opposes.
House Democrats emerged from a closed-door meeting Thursday angry about the collapse of bipartisan legislation, saying a deal is a deal and they were standing by the agreement they reached with Johnson and Republicans.
Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said a government shutdown would hurt the economy and federal workers who won鈥檛 get paid.
鈥淓lon Musk and Donald Trump don鈥檛 have to worry about that. They鈥檒l be dining on caviar at Mar-a-Lago,鈥� McGovern said. 鈥淭hey live in an alternative universe, so none of this affects them. But if affects the people I represent. And I鈥檓 pissed we鈥檙e in this situation right now.鈥�
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland said, 鈥淓lon Musk has pulled the rug out from underneath Mike Johnson. But we have an agreement, and we expect that agreement to be vindicated and fulfilled.鈥�
The White House鈥檚 Office of Management and Budget had provided initial communication to agencies about lapse planning last week, according to an official at the agency.
Late Wednesday, the Republicans floated a new idea for a scaled-back bill that would simply keep the government running and provide the disaster assistance to hurricane ravaged regions.
But almost as soon as it was being mentioned, Trump posted on social media he didn't like that plan either.
Scalise said he understands Trump 鈥渨ants to start the presidency on a sound footing and we want him to as well."
But, Scalise said, "obviously we鈥檝e got to get through this first and we鈥檙e going to get it resolved, hopefully tomorrow.鈥�
___
Associated Press writers Jill Colvin, Stephen Groves and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this story.
Lisa Mascaro And Kevin Freking, The Associated Press
