House Speaker Mike Johnson announced on Friday that he was sticking to a $1.66 trillion spending deal to avoid a partial government shutdown next week, drawing swift backlash from conservative Republican lawmakers who said they would vote against it.
“Our online agreement remains. We are working on the next steps and we are working towards a robust distribution process. So stay tuned for all those developments,” Johnson (R-La.) told reporters on Capitol Hill.
“The top deal includes hard-won concessions to cut more — billions, as you know, from IRS handouts and the COVID-era slush fund,” he said, citing other “accounting gimmicks” from last year’s debt ceiling bill negotiated by his predecessor, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
“It brings Congress closer to regular order, which is our big commitment here,” Johnson added, confirming a return to the normal 12-bill appropriations process to fund the federal government.
House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that he is sticking to the $1.66 trillion spending deal, earning him a swift backlash from conservative Republican lawmakers. AP
If passed, the continuing resolution would fund the government through the end of fiscal year 2024 on September 30, with $888 billion for the US defense budget and $704 billion in non-defense discretionary spending.
But another $69 billion will be earmarked for discretionary spending as part of a side deal McCarthy struck with President Biden for the 2023 debt ceiling measure, the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
The bill, which includes $16 billion in IRS and COVID aid cuts, also gets a 1% reduction in all non-defense spending and other funding caps if separate appropriations are not passed by April 30, 2024.
Johnson celebrated the top deal between his office and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer over the past week — but GOP hardliners want deeper cuts. AP
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who strongly supports the provision, urged his House Republican colleagues on Thursday’s broadcast on X to not “override” the legislation, which would trigger those 1% cuts for a full year.
“If we do a continuing resolution past April 30, there’s a 1% cut,” Massie told The Post, adding that he and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) urged their colleagues to support the idea.
Compared to an omnibus package or several “minibuses,” a continuing resolution would also take a government shutdown without losing spending cuts, he said.
“The White House and the Senate were desperate to raise the debt limit, and so they agreed to lower spending and the spending limit,” Massie pointed out, “so they reneged on the deal,” referring to new top-line proposals from Schumer and Johnson.
With a continuing resolution locking in spending cuts later this year, House Republicans will have more leverage to discuss appropriations bills, as well as funds to improve border security requested by members of the House Freedom Caucus, he added.
Johnson assured lawmakers that other “accounting gimmicks” had been scrapped in the top deal after being locked in last year’s debt ceiling bill negotiated by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. AP
The last time Congress passed all appropriations bills before the funding deadline was in 1996. The government will hit its first fiscal gap on January 19 and its second on February 2.
Johnson expressed openness to a stopgap funding bill until February 9, CNN reports.
The House Speaker has been celebrating the top deal between his office and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) over the past week — but GOP hardliners are angry that deeper spending cuts haven’t been made.
“The defense hawkers continue to run the swamp. That’s what killed Kevin. That’s what killed Mike,” said Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who has not ruled out vacating the speakership.
“The defense hawkers continue to run the swamp. That’s what killed Kevin. That’s what killed Mike,” said Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. Reuters
“This is not the end of this fight — we were not given a majority to spend more than [House Speaker emerita] Nancy Pelosi.”
Former Freedom Caucus chairman Scott Perry (R-Pa.) echoed that criticism video statement posted to X, calling on “certain people” to “place special interests above the State.”
“This does nothing to improve the border; this does nothing to slow the rising cost of living that you face every day,” Perry said. “I will not vote for this, I assure you that, if this is the final decision.”
In a statement on Dec. 29, The Freedom Caucus warned that the national debt “will exceed $36 trillion” by the end of 2024, with annual interest to pay off that debt amounting to nearly $1 trillion.
A Republican aide told The Post that Johnson is not expected to face the same fate as ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy given “all the mess he caused last time.” Getty Images
Caucus members like Rep. Ralph Norman (RS.) gathered at Johnson’s office Thursday to ask him to abandon the government funding bill after rejecting some of the fiscal wins he called the deal “the usual Washington math.”
McCarthy was ousted by eight House Republicans and Democrats on October 3 after passing similar measures on a bipartisan basis to avoid a government shutdown, with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) led the motion to vacate.
The elimination kicked off a three-week search for a new House speaker, as GOP members nominated three candidates in a row who each failed on the floor vote before unanimously choosing Johnson to lead their conference.
Caucus members like Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) met in Johnson’s office on Thursday to ask him to abandon the funding bill, rejecting some fiscal victories he called “Washington math.” CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images
A Republican aide told The Post that Johnson is not expected to face the same fate given “all the mess he caused last time.”
Schumer had already announced the Senate would vote Tuesday on the funding measure and blasted House Republicans in his floor speech the day before for trying to “bully” their speaker into a partial shutdown.
The continuing resolution is likely to pass the House, even with the same number of “no” votes from members who opposed the funding bill McCarthy brought in last September, the GOP aide added.
“House Republicans voted for the deal in May. Speaker Johnson confirmed it on Sunday and again this morning,” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said on Friday. “We have a deal and Republicans need to keep their promises and stop trying to shut down the government.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
