House Republicans Appear Poised to Defy Trump to Pass CR
WASHINGTON — House Republicans are preparing to meet early Friday afternoon to discuss a new plan to avert a government shutdown — one that could see them ignoring President-elect Donald Trump’s demand that they include an increase in the debt ceiling in any measure they consider.
Though the details of the talks on Capitol Hill remain fluid, it now appears House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is preparing to hold separate votes on three different measures.
The first would fund the federal government, either into early January or perhaps until as late as March 14.
The second measure would be a $100 million disaster relief bill, while the third would extend the 2018 farm bill for one year while also allocating some amount of additional relief for farmers.
But an increase in or a suspension of the debt ceiling — something Trump has said is critical to advancing his “America First” agenda — is said to not be on the table after a number of conservative Republicans balked at voting for it.
Johnson needs 218 votes to avert a government shutdown at midnight tonight, and in the closely divided House, every vote is literally make or break.
With less than 12 hours to go before the possible shutdown, the Republican conference is set to meet at about 12:30 p.m. Friday, though the meeting could very well be delayed.
In the meantime, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told members of his conference on Friday that he and Johnson had reopened negotiations on the funding deal, suggesting the speaker simply doesn’t have the Republican votes he needs to pass one or more of the measures.
Dan can be reached at [email protected] and at https://twitter.com/DanMcCue
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