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On Friday, he added, “Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous Debt Ceiling. Without this, we should never make a deal. Remember, the pressure is on whoever is President.”
In an earlier statement, Trump warned against delaying the fight over the debt ceiling until after his potential inauguration. “If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now, under the Biden Administration, not after January 20th, under ‘TRUMP.’ This is a Biden problem to solve, but if Republicans can help solve it, they will!”
The deal’s passage has sparked criticism from conservative circles, with some accusing Johnson of caving to Democratic demands. Initially, Johnson championed a plan to divide the spending package into smaller bills, a strategy aimed at achieving greater fiscal accountability. However, after discussions with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Johnson shifted to a single comprehensive bill, securing bipartisan support.
Representative Thomas Massie criticized the reversal, tweeting, “This was in fact correct when you tweeted it, but Speaker Johnson flipped his decision after the meeting when he spoke to Hakeem Jeffries and realized he could get Democrat votes to pass all the legislation as one bill.”
The House approved the bill with a decisive 366-34 vote, with more Democrats backing it than Republicans. Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries framed the vote as a victory against Trump and his allies, stating that they “defeated” Elon Musk and Trump with the bill’s passage.
Despite the criticism, Musk offered measured praise for Johnson’s approach. “The Speaker did a good job here, given the circumstances. It went from a bill that weighed pounds to a bill that weighed ounces. Ball should now be in the Dem court,” Musk commented on social media.
Earlier proposals from Republican leaders sought to split the funding package into three distinct bills: a short-term measure to fund federal operations until March 14, $100 billion in disaster aid, and $10 billion in agricultural assistance. These plans were shelved in favor of the all-in-one bill, which now heads to the Senate for final approval.
Just Released: Trump White House Collector’s Bobblehead!
As the dust settles, conservatives remain divided. Some view the compromise as a necessary step to prevent a shutdown, while others see it as a missed opportunity to advance Trump’s debt ceiling agenda. With the fiscal debate far from over, Johnson faces mounting pressure to balance bipartisan governance with the demands of his party’s base.
Whether this compromise is a temporary fix or a long-term setback for conservative priorities remains to be seen. For now, the Biden administration avoids a shutdown, but questions linger about the cost of bipartisanship in an increasingly polarized political climate.
Americans (mainly the Conservative Voters): Hello. The Speaker got the Country past the endless end of the 4-year (felt like 40) obiden regime (whew).
The Republicans will take it from there with accomplishments that demoncrats will not be able to do and not take false credit for:
-a remainder of FY 2025 Budget (not a CR, as has been the practice of demoncrats).
-a law, mandatory, annual Balanced Budgets with 4% reductions from previous FY’s, each year.
-a law, mandatory, annual minimum Paydown of the Debt, 4% of the Debt annually, each FY, until paid-off.
-Both the Balanced Budgets and Debt Paydowns will preclude any need for so-called Debt Ceiling increases (thus N/A).
-a law, 1) make Trump 2017 tax cuts permanent; 2) no tax on tips; 3) no tax on overtime; 4) no tax on Social Security income.
-ET AL fiscal improvement milestones.
-DOGE initiatives for budget savings forever, e.g.,
–include cancelling foreign aid except that to Israel.
–include defunding “planned parenthood” forever.