House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said another vote on the newest spending bill will be held Friday morning after his most recent effort failed Thursday night.
Johnson must rally his caucus to push through a new spending bill after the previous one was sunk by a Republican revolt, backed by President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance. A vote on Thursday failed to pass the House after over 30 Republicans joined House Democrats in objecting to the new bill. Entering the Capitol on Friday, Johnson said he had a plan to avert catastrophe.
“We’re expecting votes this morning, so y’all stay tuned. We’ve got a plan,” Johnson told reporters early Friday.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) told reporters after meeting with the speaker that the House will vote on a new deal at 10 a.m. She said it would be similar to the truncated deal from Thursday night, in which there were “no deals with Democrats.”
Speaker Johnson, as he entered the Capitol, said to expect House votes this morning.
“We’re expecting votes this morning,” he said. “So y’all stay tuned, we’ve got a plan.”
VP elect Vance just arrived. Freedom Caucus members are already inside Johnson’s office. pic.twitter.com/2CwOmb82YJ
— Kyle Stewart (@KyleAlexStewart) December 20, 2024
“We’ll see,” he answered when asked if there is a new spending agreement.
Johnson is meeting with the House Freedom Caucus, Vance, and Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, on Friday morning to hash out a plan. The Freedom Caucus met Thursday night to work out a plan for the new spending bill.
Other House Republican leaders expressed confidence as well. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) assured reporters on Thursday that they would “keep trying.”
Trump blamed President Joe Biden for any government shutdown, saying if there is a shutdown, he’d rather it happen before his inauguration.
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“If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now, under the Biden Administration, not after January 20th, under ‘TRUMP.’ This is a Biden problem to solve, but if Republicans can help solve it, they will!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
On Wednesday, House Republican leaders faced an immediate revolt over a continuing resolution that expanded current levels of government funding until March 14 and included an additional $110.4 billion in spending. If a spending bill isn’t passed by midnight, the government will shut down for the first time since 2019.