WASHINGTON — Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republican leaders struggled Thursday to come up with a contingency plan to keep the government open after billionaire Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump rallied conservatives to derail their bipartisan funding deal .
With less than 36 hours to go before a deadline that would shutter large parts of the federal government and furlough workers, they have no plan, or even an idea of a plan, for the future.
They do not negotiate with the Democrats, despite needing their support to pass a law. They talk among themselves.
“We don’t know anything yet,” Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-D., an ally of Johnson, R-La., told reporters as he walked into the speaker’s office.
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., the chairman of the Appropriations Committee that oversees government funding, said he doesn’t know whether to expect a “toned-down” bill to continue existing funding and add money for disaster relief. which may be the path of least resistance.
“I have no expectations,” Cole said.
Republican leaders in the House of Representatives have kept their rank-and-file members, as well as senators from both parties, in disarray, thinking they are trying to find a path forward that can meet Trump’s demands and win enough support to pass it divided Congress to pass and be signed. passed into law by President Joe Biden.
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the incoming majority whip, told NBC News that Republican Senate leaders are waiting to see what House leadership in their chamber can approve.
“I haven’t heard from them,” Barrasso said.
Meanwhile, Democratic leaders blasted Johnson and his team for reneging on a bipartisan agreement he signed.
Some noted that this affects the credibility of the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives in any future negotiations. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said there is “a huge trust problem.”
On Wednesday evening, Trump threw an unexpected twist into the funding negotiations when he rejected the bipartisan funding deal negotiated by Johnson. And in a last-minute demand, he threatened to go after Republicans unless they added a provision to extend the debt limit months before the deadline to avoid an economically catastrophic default next year — a monumental ask with even less then two days to go. before a closing deadline.
On Thursday morning, Trump went even further, telling NBC News that Congress should completely abolish the debt ceiling. In a telephone interview, Trump noted that some Democrats have wanted to abolish the debt ceiling for years and that he would “take the lead.”
Rosa DeLauro, former chair of the Connecticut Appropriations Committee and now the panel’s top Democrat, blasted Johnson and Republicans for abandoning the bipartisan funding deal struck just days earlier.
She said there was a “good agreement” moving forward, “but for President Musk.”
When asked if the tech billionaire was leading the Republicans, DeLauro replied: “It seems to me!”
(Trump told NBC News on Thursday that Musk only made a series of statements seeking to quash the bipartisan compromise after discussing it with the president-elect, saying the two agree on the issue.)
After meeting privately with House Democrats, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said his party continues to support the bipartisan agreement with Johnson and the Republican Party to keep the government open until March 14.
But when asked by NBC News whether Democrats could support a pared-down package that would fund the government and include only a farm bill and disaster relief, Jeffries twice declined to close the door on that possibility.
“We are prepared to move forward with the bipartisan agreement that we believed was negotiated in good faith with House Republicans – along with Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans – that meets the needs of the American people right now,” Jeffries said during his speech. leadership press conference.
“We are fighting for everyday Americans, not millionaires and billionaires. We are fighting for everyday Americans who will be hit by a reckless Republican shutdown.”
Jeffries added that any debate about extending or eliminating the debt ceiling at this point is “premature at best.”
And revealingly, Jeffries said he doesn’t know who among Republicans is in charge of negotiating a deal, calling it a “big ask.”
“I don’t have the answers right now,” he said.
Garcia said many Democrats are not interested in giving in to Trump’s debt ceiling demands given what he plans to do.
“Donald Trump wants to get rid of the debt ceiling because he essentially wants to make massive tax cuts to enrich his friends, to enrich Elon Musk and his companies, and to redistribute the hard-working wealth that middle-class Americans have earned,” he said. the congressman. said. “And so we can have a separate discussion about the debt ceiling.”
Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, said he sympathized with Johnson and asserted that even “the Lord Jesus would have a very difficult time leading this conference.”
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who just won reelection in a swing district, said on MSNBC that it is “very clear that 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 host Andrea Mitchell. “I will remind everyone that we are in a divided government. Still, Democrats control the Senate and the White House, so there will have to be bipartisan negotiations.”
What remains unsaid as Musk calls for a government shutdown until January 20 — when Trump will be inaugurated as president and Republicans will control Congress — is that the Republican Party still needs Democratic support to reopen the government.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
