What's New
Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has said she backs a government shutdown after Donald Trump and Elon Musk came out against a short-term spending compromise orchestrated by GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson to keep the government open.
Greene made the remarks in response to former Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich who said that Trump and other Republicans "should not be afraid of a government shutdown."
"The next election is two years away. We had two shutdowns in 1995 and became the first reelected house GOP majority since 1928. It may take shock therapy for [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer and Democrats to learn President Trump is serious about draining the swamp," he said.
The government will shut down from Saturday unless Congress votes to pass a short-term funding bill. The bill would keep the government open until March 14.
Why It Matters
If the government shuts down on Saturday, many veterans and seniors could be left without support over the Christmas period and possibly until well after Trump takes office on January 20.
The current 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.
What To Know
Greene is not the only Republican who says she will not support the Continuing Resolution.
Amid Trump and Musk's criticism of the short-term spending compromise, a flurry of House Republicans said on social media that they would also refuse to support the bill.
They include Republican Representatives Andy Harris, Eric Burlison, Chip Roy, Kat Cammack, and Anna Paulina Luna, among others.
The speaker may be forced to cut tens or hundreds of millions of dollars from the spending bill to get it through the House, or raise the debt limit.
The debt limit is the total amount of money the government can borrow to meet its legal obligations. This includes Social Security and Medicare benefits, military salaries, and interest on the national debt.
If Congress passes the short-term spending bill as it stands, the government will avoid a shutdown, but the issue of raising the debt ceiling will need to be addressed by Trump during his second term in office, with the current limit set to expire in 2025.
What People Are Saying
Marjorie Taylor Greene on X: "WE MUST STAND FIRM WITH THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO STOP THE MADNESS!! No matter what. Even if we have to elect new leadership,"
Representative Andy Harris, the chair of the Freedom Caucus, said on X: "The American people didn't, don't send their representatives to Washington to vote on a 1,500-page bill in less than 24 hours that spends $110 billion, adds $110 billion to the deficit, without the opportunity to offer an amendment to perhaps pay for this bill. The process is broken."
Representative Eric Burlison, a Missouri Republican, said on X: "I'm not just a no on this monstrosity of a spending bill, I'm a HELL NO."
Representative Chip Roy of Texas on X: "We should not vote on the CRamnibus less than 24 hours after getting bill text. This has become a Christmas Tree for the swamp and should not pass."
Representative Kat Cammack, a Florida Republican, said the measure was "a Band-Aid that is laced with fentanyl."
Representative Anna Paulina Luna said: "There's a certain sandwich that's made of feces, and that's what I would compare this to. (...) This is a s*** sandwich. I don't know how else to say that we're being forced into this position."
President-elect Donald Trump has said any Republican lawmaker who backs a continuing resolution without including an increase to the debt limit should face being primaried.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: "If Republicans try to pass a clean Continuing Resolution without all of the Democrat 'bells and whistles' that will be so destructive to our Country, all it will do, after January 20th, is bring the mess of the Debt Limit into the Trump Administration, rather than allowing it to take place in the Biden Administration. Any Republican that would be so stupid as to do this should, and will, be Primaried. Everything should be done, and fully negotiated, prior to my taking Office on January 20th, 2025."
What Happens Next
Lawmakers now have until Friday to prevent a government shutdown. It isn't clear what a new spending bill may look like now that Trump and Musk have asked for a streamlined budget.
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