Staff Reports
In a dramatic political twist that could put a halt to the government shutdown rumors, Donald Trump swooped in to salvage the day just a hair’s breadth after Speaker Mike Johnson’s half-baked plan crashed and burned. Republicans raced through the hallowed halls of Capitol Hill, navigating the labyrinthine corridors between Johnson’s office and Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s, trying to piece together a solution that wouldn’t leave them with egg on their faces.
Johnson’s original plan, a short-term continuing resolution loaded with what could only be described as a cornucopia of handouts for Democrats and Washington elite, was met with fierce backlash from his own party. The details of this 300-page monstrosity trickled onto the House website just in time for everyone to express their disdain. It was practically a menu of disgraceful giveaways that even many Republicans found unbearable.
BREAKING: A spending agreement has been finalized, with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna stating that Trump played a key role in negotiating it." pic.twitter.com/dlq5IF1sxX
— aka (@akafacehots) December 19, 2024
As hopes dwindled Wednesday, Trump and incoming Vice President JD Vance jumped in to right the ship. Vance found himself locked in Johnson’s office, hustling behind the scenes with the best of them, as Trump’s team, led by the adept James Braid, pitched in during crucial negotiations. By late afternoon, a fresh proposal emerged, leaving lobbyists and their beloved pork in the dust.
This new spending arrangement features a no-frills three-month extension of current expenditure levels, a one-year farm bill extension, a hefty $110 billion in disaster aid, and, much to Trump’s liking, a two-year suspension of the debt limit until January 2027. The fact that almost all the unnecessary fluff was eliminated only added to the pandemonium among the Washington lobbyist crowd, who were left tossing their cocktail shrimp in despair.
However, the road ahead remains murky. The bill is set to be proposed under suspension of the rules, meaning it needs two-thirds support in the House to pass. Not every Republican is on board with the deal; notable dissent has come from Texas’s Chip Roy, who voiced concerns that the bill may be a bit too cavalier with taxpayer dollars. After taking heat on Truth Social from Trump himself, the climate is anything but cozy.
Meanwhile, Democrats are expected to line up on the opposite side of the aisle, not even pretending to show support as they reportedly yelled a collective “hell no” during their caucus meeting. As the bill inches closer to a vote, it becomes the great mystery of whether it can actually make it to the Senate unharmed by the political crossfire.
Through all this, the burning question on every Republican’s mind is why Johnson didn’t bring them and Trump into these discussions sooner. It’s a tough pill to swallow when it seems like they might just be scraping by, all thanks to some last-minute intervention from the man who literally wrote the book on deals.
