WASHINGTON — The House rejected a bill Thursday to keep the government funded temporarily after Republican leaders reneged on an earlier bipartisan deal and made modifications to appease President-elect Donald Trump, billionaire Elon Musk and an internal GOP revolt.
The vote was 174-235, with one Democrat voting present, falling far short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass it under a fast-track process. Two Democrats voted for the bill, and Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, was the lone present vote, while the rest of the party opposed it. Thirty-eight Republicans voted against the bill, as well, with conservatives saying it did not substantially reduce federal spending.
The rejected measure leaves Congress without a clear plan to avoid a looming government shutdown with less than 30 hours left before the deadline, driving up the odds of a funding lapse just ahead of the holidays. A shutdown is scheduled to begin at 12:01 a.m. ET Saturday.
Asked by reporters whether a new funding bill would be released Friday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said “we’ll see” as he left the Capitol on Thursday night.
The failed bill put together by Johnson and other Republican leaders had Trump’s endorsement but faced speedy opposition from Democratic leaders, who had not signed off before its release. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called the proposal “laughable” as Democrats met privately before the vote.
In a closed-door meeting of House Democrats before the vote, lawmakers could be heard chanting, “Hell no! Hell no!”
Jeffries said on the House floor before the vote that his party would oppose the bill. “We are going to continue to fight for everyday Americans. That is why we are voting no on this bill — and to stop this reckless regressive and reactionary Republican shutdown,” he said.
House Democrats plan to meet Friday morning to discuss government funding, according to an invitation obtained by NBC News.
After the vote, Johnson did not provide any details about next steps in the House. Instead, he sought to cast blame on Democrats for the vote tally. Similarly, Musk and the Trump transition team both pointed the finger at Democrats.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., whose chamber still needs to pass whatever can get through the House and send it to President Joe Biden’s desk before the shutdown deadline, said Thursday night: “It’s a good thing the bill failed in the House. And now it’s time to go back to the bipartisan agreement we came to.”
The 116-page bill released Thursday would have funded the government through March 14. It also would have extended the country’s debt limit through Jan. 30, 2027, in response to a key, eleventh-hour request from Trump.
The slimmed-down package included 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.
It included an extension of the farm bill, as well as funding for the farming sector, including millions of dollars for conservation efforts, a watershed protection program and rural development disaster assistance.
Absent were 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. The legislation also excluded health care provisions to overhaul laws around pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, that were agreed to in the previous deal.
Trump praised the deal on Truth Social, 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.
Two Democrats, Reps. Kathy Castor, of Florida, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, of Washington, voted with most Republicans for the bill Thursday night.
The latest GOP proposal was released less than 36 hours before a deadline to fund the government or allow a shutdown that would shutter vast swaths of the federal government and furlough thousands of workers.
Democratic leaders have excoriated Johnson and his team for reneging on the previous bipartisan deal he had signed off on. Some said 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 said that some Democrats have wanted to eliminate the debt ceiling for years and that he would “lead the charge” in that effort.
Jeffries had previously said that any debate over extending or eliminating the debt ceiling at this point is “premature at best.”
When asked by a reporter Thursday evening whether Republicans would make another attempt on Friday to pass a bill that suspends the debt limit, Scalise said they were “looking at some other options on all the things that we’ve been discussing.”
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, of Connecticut, 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” that was moving ahead “but for President Musk.”
Asked whether Musk was calling the shots for Republicans, DeLauro replied: “It’d appear to me!”
(Trump told NBC News on Thursday that Musk had only put out a series of statements seeking to kill the bipartisan compromise after having discussed it with him, 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.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
