CNN — The House failed to pass a new GOP proposal on Thursday to fund the government into March, amid opposition from top Democrats, intensifying the threat of a shutdown ahead of a Friday deadline.
The CNN reports that Democrats are frustrated and angry after Donald Trump sunk a bipartisan deal and sent Republicans scrambling to find a plan B to satisfy the president-elect’s eleventh-hour spending demands. Government funding expires at the end of the day on Friday.
The GOP measure includes a three-month extension of government funding, a two-year suspension of the debt limit into January 2027, as well as roughly $110 billion for disaster relief, according to five sources.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told House Democrats in a closed-door meeting that he is “not just a no, I’m a hell no,” on the new GOP proposal, according to a source in the room.
Democrats are arguing that the two-year suspension of the debt limit will help Trump pass his tax plan, and they aren’t willing to make it easier for him given their opposition to it.
“This bill is designed to set up the GOP tax scam 2.0,” Jeffries said in remarks on the House floor ahead of the vote. “That’s what this bill today fundamentally is all about
Trump upended the government funding effort on Wednesday when he came out against the bipartisan plan that House Speaker Mike Johnson had backed. Trump is now demanding that any deal to avert a shutdown also address the looming debt limit, a complex issue that typically requires weeks to months of painstaking negotiations on Capitol Hill to resolve.
Trump said Thursday that he supports the new GOP proposal, saying on Truth Social, “All Republicans, and even the Democrats, should do what is best for our Country, and vote “YES” for this Bill, TONIGHT!”
Rep. Gregory Meeks, a Democrat from New York and a close ally of Jeffries, said he sees no reason for Democrats to provide votes for Johnson’s redrafted spending bill.
“No, I think we negotiated the deal in good faith,” Meeks told CNN when asked if Democrats should support the bill.
“We negotiated,” he added. “That should be the bill that goes over to the Senate.”
The sentiment is reflected in many corners of the Democratic Party. A half-dozen Democratic lawmakers told CNN after the release of the new GOP proposal that they did not believe they would support the plan.
House Republicans brought the new proposal to the floor under a maneuver that required a two-thirds majority to pass.
Republicans can try again to pass the bill through a simple majority, which would also be tough but would require less Democratic support.
This story and headline have been updated with additional information.
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