House rejects Trump-backed plan to avoid govt shutdown
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More news: The House of Representatives has rejected a new plan by Republican leaders, endorsed by President-elect Donald Trump, to fund federal operations and suspend the debt ceiling a day before a government shutdown.
The bill fell 174-235, failing to reach the two-thirds threshold needed for passage in the Republican-controlled House.
House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared determined to reach an agreement on the bill before the deadline of midnight on Friday, local time, saying "we're going to do the right thing here".
Trump endorses new GOP plan to avoid government shutdown
The news: US President-elect Donald Trump has endorsed a new plan devised by the House Republican leaders to try to prevent a government shutdown this weekend, according to media reports.
The context:The move came a day after Trump killed a bipartisan funding deal meant to keep federal operations running beyond Friday and until March, plunging Congress into chaos.
Representative Tom Cole said Republicans had reached a new agreement on how to proceed and that there would be a House vote later on Thursday, local time.
Posting on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said: "SUCCESS in Washington! Speaker Mike Johnson and the House have come to a very good Deal for the American People."
The new bill will continue to fund federal agencies until 14 March, retain $100 billion in disaster aid for hurricane-hit states and other natural disasters, and maintain $10 billion in economic assistance for row crop farmers.
It also adds a Trump-backed measure to suspend the US debt limit from 1 January 2025 until 30 January 2027, and scraps the first pay raise for lawmakers since 2009.
The revised package would need to clear the Republican-led House, where GOP leaders have had to rely on Democrats to help pass spending bills. The measure would also need to be approved by the Democratic-controlled Senate.
However, Democratic Leader, Hakeem Jeffries called the new Trump-backed plan "laughable" and "not a serious proposal", the Associated Press News reported.
The sources: Wall Street Journal, AP
