House Speaker Mike Johnson and his senior team are reportedly discussing a “clean” spending package bill that will shed billions in government spending as President-elect Donald Trump has come out against the proposed bill. This comes after House leadership has faced significant pushback from conservative Republicans as well as ally to Trump, Elon Musk.
According to Politico, Johnson’s leadership team is in discussions for a “plan B,” on the spending package that would drop $100 billion in disaster aid as well as shed other spending provisions that would be taken care of in the New Year.
I just spoke with the President-Elect @realDonaldTrump , and he is “totally against” the proposed CR.
— Lawrence Jones III (@LawrenceBJones3) December 18, 2024
This comes as Fox reporter Lawrence Jones III reported that Trump said he is “totally against” the spending proposed package.
Fox News: Trump is “TOTALLY AGAINST” the spending bill proposed by Speaker Mike Johnson.
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) December 18, 2024
Incoming Vice President JD Vance wrote a statement from Trump as well as himself in response to the original package: “Congress is considering a spending bill that would give sweetheart provisions for government censors and for Liz Cheney. The bill would make it easier to hide the records of the corrupt January 6 committee—which accomplished nothing for the American people and hid security failures that happened that day. This bill would also give Congress a pay increase while many Americans are struggling this Christmas.”
A statement from President Donald J. Trump and Vice President-Elect JD Vance:
The most foolish and inept thing ever done by Congressional Republicans was allowing our country to hit the debt ceiling in 2025. It was a mistake and is now something that must be addressed.…
— JD Vance (@JDVance) December 18, 2024
It added, “Republicans want to support our farmers, pay for disaster relief, and set our country up for success in 2025. The only way to do that is with a temporary funding bill WITHOUT DEMOCRAT GIVEAWAYS combined with an increase in the debt ceiling. Anything else is a betrayal of our country. Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH. If Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, then CALL THEIR BLUFF. It is Schumer and Biden who are holding up aid to our farmers and disaster relief.”
Many conservative lawmakers have slammed the stopgap spending package that would carry government spending through mid-March. House Freedom Caucus members have also been a resounding no on the proposed spending package unveiled on Tuesday, a congressional staffer told The Post Millennial.
Musk, a key ally to the incoming Trump administration, expressed his opposition to the bill on Wednesday morning, saying that the “bill should not pass” through a House vote. He followed up in another post, saying, “Ever seen a bigger piece of pork?” as he shared a picture of the 1,500+ page bill.
Johnson told Fox News that he was able to speak to Musk as well as Vivek Ramaswamy on Tuesday evening about the spending package. He told the network, “We still have just a razor-thin margin of Republicans. So any bill has to have Democratic votes,” Johnson added in response to Musk. “They understand the situation. He said, ‘It’s not directed to you, Mr. Speaker, but we don’t like the spending.’ I said, ‘Guess what, fellas, I don’t either.’”
Ramaswamy, for his part, posted on X on Wednesday, “DOGE is here & this is the first test,” in response to reports Johnson may be implementing a clean bill.
How on earth did a 3 month Continuing Resolution grow into this Cramnibus
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) December 18, 2024
Incoming Senate Majority Leader, John Cornyn, also slammed the continuing resolution package. “How on earth did a 3 month Continuing Resolution grow into this Cramnibus,” he wrote online.
According to Politico, some Republicans believe that the opposition from Musk was enough to shift the tide on the bill. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) told the outlet, when asked if Musk’s post had an impact on lawmakers’ votes, “I think it probably is.”
Fox News says that “lawmakers are scrambling” after Elon Musk posted in opposition to the spending bill
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) December 18, 2024
Dozens of Republicans are now opposing the original spending package, but it will still be an uphill battle to pass a CR in the House as the GOP holds only a slight majority.
