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WASHINGTON — House Republicans on Thursday released a new spending bill to avoid a looming government shutdown, just hours after the original bipartisan agreement was torpedoed by President-elect Donald Trump.
The new bill put together by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Republican leaders has Trump’s endorsement but appears to face opposition from Democrats who have not signed off on the deal. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called the new proposal “laughable.”
The 116-page bill released Thursday evening would fund the government through March 14, averting a shutdown that is slated to begin at 12:01 a.m.. Saturday. It would also extend the nation’s debt limit through Jan. 30, 2027, in response to a key request from Trump.
It includes millions of dollars in disaster relief money for recovery from hurricanes Helene and Milton for construction projects and environmental cleanup, among a slew of other designations.
The bill includes an extension of the farm bill as well as funding for the farming sector, including millions for conservation efforts, a watershed protection program and rural development disaster assistance.
Absent are provisions that had infuriated Trump and his right-wing allies, including cost of living increases for lawmakers and giving Washington, D.C., control over a stadium site that could be used for the Washington Commanders NFL team.
House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole, R-Okla., first told reporters Thursday afternoon of the agreement, saying, “We expect to have a vote” later in the day.
In a post on TruthSocial, Trump praised the deal, calling it a “success” and urged both Republicans and Democrats to vote yes.
“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 wrote.
Democrats were not part of the renegotiated deal and haven’t yet signed off, however, two sources with knowledge of the negotiations told NBC News.
The bill “is not serious, it’s laughable. Extreme MAGA Republicans are driving us to a government shutdown,” Jeffries said.
Jeffries had previously said that any debate over extending or eliminating the debt ceiling right now is “premature at best.”
House Democrats are in an ongoing meeting about the new bill.
Johnson and House Republican leaders had struggled earlier Thursday to devise a fallback plan to keep the government open, which is slated to shut down after the calendar turns to Saturday. Billionaire Elon Musk and Trump rallied conservatives to sink the original bipartisan funding deal.
The new agreement comes less than 36 hours before a deadline to fund the government or lead to vast swaths of the federal government shuttering and the furloughing of workers.
Democratic leaders have excoriated Johnson and his team for reneging on the previous bipartisan deal that he had signed off on. Some noted that it diminishes House Republican leadership’s credibility in any future negotiations.
On Wednesday evening, Trump threw an unexpected wrench into funding negotiations when he slammed the bipartisan funding deal Johnson had negotiated. And, in a last-minute demand, he threatened to go after Republicans unless they added a provision to extend the debt limit, months ahead of a deadline to prevent an economically catastrophic default next year — a substantial ask with less than two days to go before a shutdown deadline.
On Thursday morning, Trump went even further, telling NBC News that Congress needs to abolish the debt ceiling entirely. In a phone interview, Trump noted that some Democrats have wanted to nix the debt ceiling for years and that he would “lead the charge” in that effort.
Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the former Appropriations Committee chair who is now the panel’s top Democrat, was among those who slammed Johnson and Republicans for reneging on the bipartisan funding deal that had been locked in just days earlier.
She said there was a “good agreement” in place that was moving ahead, “but for President Musk.”
Asked if the tech billionaire was calling the shots for Republicans, DeLauro replied: “It’d appear to me!”
(Trump told NBC News Thursday that Musk had only put out a series of statements seeking to kill the bipartisan compromise after discussing it with the president-elect, saying the two are aligned on the issue.)
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who just won re-election in a swing district, said on MSNBC that it is “very clear, Donald Trump is in charge” and that Republicans need Democratic support for a bill.
“The reality here is very simple. We have to negotiate,” Lawler told MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell before Thursday’s agreement was announced. “I will remind everybody we are in a divided government. Still, Democrats control the Senate and the White House, so there’s going to have to be a bipartisan negotiation.”
Scott Wong is a senior congressional reporter for NBC News.
Sahil Kapur is a senior national political reporter for NBC News.
Julie Tsirkin is a correspondent covering Capitol Hill.
Syedah Asghar is a Capitol Hill researcher for NBC News and is based in Washington, D.C.
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