Republicans in the U.S. Congress teed up a vote on Thursday for a new spending package that would avert a looming government shutdown, this time with the support of President-elect Donald Trump, who scuttled a prior bipartisan version.
It was not clear whether the measure would survive an evening vote in the House of Representatives.
House Democrats emerged from a closed-door meeting to say they would vote against the bill, which their leader, Hakeem Jeffries, called laughable.
Republicans control the chamber by a 219-211 majority, meaning they can lose no more than three votes if Democrats unite against the bill. One Republican, Representative Rich McCormick, predicted at least 10 from his party would vote against it.
Democrats also currently control the Senate, and Democratic President Joe Biden’s support would be needed to sign the package into law and avert a shutdown starting on Saturday.
If lawmakers fail to meet that deadline, the U.S. government will begin a partial shutdown that would interrupt funding for everything from border enforcement to law enforcement in the days leading up to Christmas and cut off paychecks for more than 2 million federal workers. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration warned that travelers could face long lines at airports.
Trump urged lawmakers to vote for the package. The incoming president has demanded that lawmakers tie up loose ends before he takes office on January 20.
“Now we can Make America Great Again, very quickly,” Trump said in a statement.
The new package would fund government operations for three months, until Trump is in the White House and Republicans control both chambers of Congress, according to sources familiar with the package. It also would provide $100 billion in disaster aid and $10 billion in farm aid and extend farm and food aid programs that were due to expire at the end of the year.
It does not include other elements that had been included in the original package, such as a pay raise for lawmakers and new rules for pharmacy benefit managers.
The package would also suspend the debt ceiling until January 2027, which could clear the way for trillions of dollars to be added to the $36 trillion federal debt.
Trump’s embrace of the deal marks a softening of his earlier demand that Congress eliminate the debt ceiling entirely before he returns to office.
Previous fights over the debt ceiling have spooked financial markets, as a U.S. government default would send credit shocks around the world. The limit has been suspended under an agreement that technically expires on January 1, though lawmakers likely will not have to tackle the issue until the spring.
Democrats said Trump and his Republicans were trying to remove a barrier to budget-busting tax cuts.
“That’s to give them room for tax cuts for the wealthiest in America,” Democratic Representative Steny Hoyer told reporters.
When he returns to office, Trump aims to enact tax cuts that could reduce revenues by $8 trillion over 10 years, which would drive the debt higher without offsetting spending cuts. He has vowed not to reduce retirement and health benefits for seniors that make up a vast chunk of the budget and are projected to grow dramatically in the years to come.
Several Republicans earlier said they were not interested in getting rid of the debt ceiling if they did not also cut spending.
“It’s like limiting, you know, increasing your credit card limit, while you don’t do anything to actually constrain spending,” Representative Chip Roy told reporters.
The last government shutdown took place in December 2018 and January 2019 during Trump’s first White House term.
