US Congress has two days to avert shutdown after Trump rejects spending bill
Trump rejects bipartisan US spending bill
Trump says Republicans who vote for current package should face challengers in primaries
Next steps uncertain as shutdown risk rises
Adds quotes, paragraphs 12, 18-20
By Bo Erickson, Richard Cowan, Andy Sullivan and Katharine Jackson
WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) -The U.S. Congress has two days as of Thursday to avert a partial government shutdown after President-elect Donald Trump rejected a bipartisan deal on federal spending and demanded lawmakers address the nation's debt ceiling before he takes office next month.
Trump told his fellow Republicans in Congress to reject a stopgap bill that would keep the government funded past the deadline of midnight on Friday (0500 GMT Saturday), saying that any of them whovoted for the bipartisan bill should face primary challenges from within their own party in the 2026 midterm elections.
That threat sent House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson and the rest of his leadership team back to the drawing board, trying to find a new compromise bill that could win the support of both his sometimes unruly 219-211 majority and clear the Senate, where Democrats hold a 51-49 majority.
If there is no action from Congress,the U.S. government will begin a partial shutdown on Saturday that would interrupt funding for everything from air travel to law enforcement in the days leading up to the Dec. 25 Christmas holiday.
"Any Republican that would be so stupid as to do this should, and will, be Primaried," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
If there is a government shutdown, it would be the first since one that extended through December 2018 into 2019, during Trump's first four-year White House term.
Trump is now calling on Congress to pass legislation that would tie up loose ends before he takes office next month by extending the government's borrowing authority - a politically difficult task - and extending government funding.
Congress adopted a limit on the amount of money the government can borrow in 1939, aiming to stem the rise of government's debt. It has not achieved its purpose -- federal debt has climbed to $36 trillion, fueled by Democratic-backed spending, Republican-backed tax cuts and the spiraling cost of the Social Security retirement program.
The debt ceiling is the periodic focus of Washington brinkmanship, and so thenation from time to time faces the risk of a potentially catastrophic default that would shake global markets.
MUSK FACTOR
Trump also said lawmakers should strip out elements of the bipartisan deal backed by Democrats, whose support will be needed to pass the bill.
Trump's ally and the world's richest person, Elon Musk, who has been tasked by Trump to prune the federal budget, pressured Congress to reject the bill and said those who back it should be voted out of office.
The bipartisan bill would fund government agencies at current levels and provide $100 billion for disaster relief and $10 billion in farm aid. It also includes a wide range of unrelated provisions, such as a pay raise for lawmakers and a crackdown on hidden hotel fees.
"It is dangerous for House Republicans to have folded to the demands of the richest man on the planet, who nobody elected, after leaders in both parties came to an agreement to fund the government and provide this disaster aid," Representative Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee said in a statement on Thursday.
TALKS CONTINUED LATE INTO THE NIGHT
After a meeting with Vice President-elect JD Vance and other top Republican leaders late on Wednesday, Speaker Johnson said there was a "productive conversation," without giving details.
"I'm not going to say anything else about it tonight because we are in the middle of these negotiations," Johnson said.
When asked if raising the debt ceiling will be part of an agreement being worked on, House Republican leader Steve Scalise said lawmakers were "not there yet."
House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole, who was also at the meeting, was asked if he was confident there would not be a government shutdown. He replied: "I'm not confident of anything."
The House Republican majority has been restive over the past two years, having thrown out Johnson's predecessor Kevin McCarthy due to anger over a government funding bill. Johnson has repeatedly had to turn to Democrats for help in passing legislation when he has been unable to deliver the votes from his own party.
Hardline Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene suggested that Johnson could face a new threat to his leadership.
"WE MUST STAND FIRM WITH THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO STOP THE MADNESS!! No matter what. Even if we have to elect new leadership," Greene said on X.
NEXT STEPS REMAIN UNCLEAR
The next steps for Congress were unclear. Bipartisan agreement will be needed to pass any spending bill through both theHouse and the Senate, where Democrats currently hold a narrow majority.
The stopgap measure is needed because Congress has failed to pass regular spending legislation for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1. It does not cover benefit programs like Social Security, which continue automatically.
The U.S. government has spent more money than it has taken in for over 20 years, as Democrats have expanded health programs and Republicans have cut taxes.
Reporting by Richard Cowan, Katharine Jackson, Andy Sullivan and Bo Erickson
Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh
Editing by Kieran Murray, Scott Malone and Frances Kerry
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
