Trump, 78, and Vice President-elect JD Vance, 40, maneuvered Wednesday to completely kill the bipartisan deal to avert a partial government shutdown amid mounting GOP backlash. The incoming president wants Johnson (R-La.), 52, to dramatically overhaul the plan.
“If the speaker acts decisively, and tough, and gets rid of all of the traps being set by the Democrats, which will economically and, in other ways, destroy our country, he will easily remain speaker,” Trump told Fox News.
On Tuesday evening, congressional leaders had unveiled the stopgap funding plan, which would’ve staved off a shutdown at midnight Friday into Saturday and kept the government’s lights on through March 14, 2025.
But that 1,547-page bill was laden with an assortment of add-ons such as $100 billion in disaster relief, $10 billion in assistance for farmers, what would’ve been the first congressional pay raise since 2009, support for returning the Washington Commanders to the RFK Stadium site and more.
Republicans erupted in open revolt, while Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) co-heads Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy turned on the speaker and urged Republicans to kill the bill.
Trump had initially been mum. Then later in the day Wednesday, he and Vance demanded the GOP rip out “Democrat giveaways” and work in an increase to the debt ceiling.
“Anything else is a betrayal of our country,” Trump and Vance declared in a joint statement.
The remarkable shift against the GOP speaker raised questions about the extent to which Trump and Johnson coordinated on the funding bill. Both men have been in contact and were seen talking at the Army-Navy game over the weekend.
Last year, following a nasty funding flap, Congress agreed to suspend the debt ceiling, the cap on the government’s borrowing authority, until early 2025. That means it is poised to become a tricky issue for the next administration to address early on at a time when Trump will be eyeing a broader legislative agenda.
Vance met with Johnson for about an hour Wednesday evening and later claimed to have had a “productive conversation,” without divulging too many specifics.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) has indicated to reporters that the funding deal that was rolled out publicly late Tuesday has fallen by the wayside.
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“Anybody that supports a bill that doesn’t take care of the Democrat quicksand known as the debt ceiling should be primaried and disposed of as quickly as possible,” Trump added to Fox News about the funding bill.
Multiple Republicans have publicly yanked their support for Johnson retaining the speaker’s gavel amid a brewing mutiny.
“He does not have my vote,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) bluntly told CNN during the funding row.
From the other chamber, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) suggested his colleagues in the House contemplate Musk to serve as speaker.
“Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk … think about it … nothing’s impossible. (not to mention the joy at seeing the collective establishment, aka ‘uniparty,’ lose their ever-lovin’ minds),” he posted on X.