It seems like just a few weeks ago, there was a crisis on Capitol Hill as lawmakers tried to avert a government shutdown.
Well, you have a good memory. But you don’t have to have a long one. The reason is that a government funding drama played out in Washington just before last Christmas. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., thought he had forged an agreement which could pass the House with a coalition of Democrats and Republicans. It would also get through the Senate with Democrats lugging some of the freight to overcome a filibuster.
Everything seemed fine until lawmakers saw the sheer size of the bill. President Trump – then president-elect – weighed in. So did Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
And the bill was toast.
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President Donald Trump helped get House Republicans’ budget bill over the line. (Getty Images)
Lawmakers scrambled to assemble a slimmed-down bill to avoid a Christmastime government shutdown – and punt everything until the middle of March.
Guess what?
It’s mid-March.
Lawmakers failed to work out an overall spending package to run until next fall. This came after the spending plan that we’re talking about now was supposed to be worked out last fall. In fact, many House Republicans complained that lawmakers failed to advance the 12 individual spending bills by the book. The House has completed a few. The Senate? None. That was under the stewardship of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., when Democrats ran the show last year. Zero bills under new Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., this year.
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Don’t forget that Johnson seized the speakership in October 2023, promising to handle the appropriations bills one by one. But reality set in. Circumstances forced Johnson to advance multiple stopgap spending packages – often with Democratic help. They finally funded the government for 2023 in April 2024.
This is why government funding crises ricochet around constantly.
House Republicans published the text of an interim spending bill over the weekend. It renews the Biden-level funding numbers – but also makes some cuts to social spending programs and the budget for the city of Washington. However, there are small increases in funding for the Pentagon. There are few Democratic priorities reflected in the bill. Yet House Republicans – who control the House – are demanding Democrats join them to help pass the bill. Democratic votes may be necessary when Republicans have a slim majority. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., already said he was a no unless he were to receive “a lobotomy.”
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy (Getty Images)
During an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” last week, Johnson asserted that Democrats should help because “government funding is always bipartisan. You have to have partners on both sides of the aisle to do it.”
Johnson has needed Democrats to pass government funding bills since he assumed the speakership. In fact, Democrats may have salvaged Johnson’s speakership last spring. There was a wink and a nod that Democrats may try to buffer any attempt to oust him – especially since he was willing to support a plan to fund Ukraine.
And Johnson, along with his predecessor, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., faced reams of criticism for crafting spending bills to avert government shutdowns which needed Democrats to pass.
“Speaker Johnson has betrayed (our trust) by passing three CRs to keep the government open and then forcing us to pass, or to vote on a two-part omnibus, the second one being today,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., last year.
She threatened to remove the speaker when a temporary spending measure arrived last year.
“This bill was basically a dream and a wish list for Democrats and for the White House. It was completely led by Chuck Schumer, not our Republican speaker of the House,” added Greene.
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Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., was one of the eight GOP members who voted to remove McCarthy as speaker in 2023. Throughout that summer, Biggs criticized McCarthy over how he handled spending bills and a measure to avoid a collision with the debt ceiling.
“The speaker formed a coalition with Democrats to get us a $4 trillion national debt. And I continue to be concerned because he hasn’t repudiated that coalition,” said Biggs in June 2023.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., is responsible for triggering the resolution that led to McCarthy’s demise. McCarthy’s transgression? After the House stumbled to pass its own spending package before a government funding deadline in September 2023, McCarthy put a clean spending measure on the floor that passed with Democratic help. McCarthy was out the door four days later.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz is responsible for triggering the resolution that led to McCarthy’s ouster. (Reuters)
“We’re going to force him into a monogamous relationship with one or the other,” said Gaetz at the time.
The Florida Republican accused McCarthy of jumping “in the back seat” with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
So now House Republicans have crafted a bill that appeals to Republicans. And they expect Democrats to help them support it.
“The threat of the shutdown is on them at that point. So they better get on board,” said Rep. Jake Ellzey, R-Texas.
Ellzey noted that if all Senate Republicans supported the package, it would be incumbent on at least seven Senate Democrats to help break a filibuster to advance the plan. Republicans hold 53 Senate seats. But 60 yeas are necessary to overcome a filibuster.
“And if we shut down, it’s on them,” said Ellzey.
Democrats find GOP criticism rich – despite the Senate numbers conundrum.
“This is a question of why can’t they govern?” asked Rep. Ro Khanna, R-Calif. “You elected a Republican president. You have a Republican House. A Republican Senate. They should be able to have the votes to fund government.”
Rep. Ro Khanna questions witnesses during a roundtable on Supreme Court ethics in Washington, D.C., June 11, 2024. (Allison Bailey/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
Khanna also blasted the GOP’s “take it or leave it” approach when they were not part of negotiations for this particular bill. Democrats demanded restrictions on DOGE and guarantees about sustaining programs at federal agencies, along with no cuts to social programs.
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“It’s disingenuous for them to expect Democratic votes without making compromise,” said Khanna. “You can’t say ‘Vote for it on my terms.’”
This may be a bumpy week. The House plans to pass the bill and skip town, leaving the Senate holding the bag. Democrats are debating whether it’s better to keep the government operating – since they support federal workers. They simultaneously fear a government shutdown could invite more cuts by DOGE.
But even though this seems like other government shutdown battles, this one is slightly different. One can never expect things to go by the script when President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are involved. Some argue that their interference with the December bill was just an appetizer. We’ll know by Friday night if this government shutdown threat is like all the others – or not.