With a government shutdown deadline just hours away, Republican congressional leaders are scrambling to come up with a third spending proposal.
An initial bipartisan deal was tanked earlier this week by President-elect Donald Trump and his ally Elon Musk. Then on Thursday night, the House failed to pass a revamped plan that included Trump's explosive demand that the debt limit be extended.
Thousands of federal workers could have to work without pay if a shutdown ensues. Others could be furloughed and many government services could be affected.
House Speaker Mike Johnson departed the Capitol Thursday night and said "we'll see" when asked if the House will vote on another spending bill on Friday.
Earlier Thursday, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said leaders will "keep working" and didn't specify what the next step would be.
"What exactly is in or out hasn't been decided," Scalise said.
Scalise blamed Democrats for voting down the bill Thursday, saying, "They want to try to shut it down."
Congress faces a deadline of midnight Friday to sort out funding or a government shutdown kicks in.
Dec 19, 2024, 10:03 PM EST
Musk blames Democrats for spending bill’s failure
In a series of posts Thursday night, Elon Musk blamed Democrats for the failure of the government funding plan that he pushed along with Trump.
“Shame on @RepJeffries for rejecting a fair & simple spending bill that is desperately needed by states suffering from hurricane damage!” Musk wrote.
President-elect Donald Trump stands with Elon Musk as they attend the NCAA college football game between Army and Navy at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., Dec. 14, 2024.
Stephanie Scarbrough/AP
In another, he wrote: “Objectively, the vast majority of Republican House members voted for the spending bill, but only 2 Democrats did. Therefore, if the government shuts down, it is obviously the fault of @RepJeffries and the Democratic Party. Plain & simple.”
Musk mounted a pressure campaign on House Republicans on Wednesday to vote against the bipartisan bill that Johnson intended to bring to the floor. On Thursday, 38 Republicans – most of them fiscal conservatives – voted against a stripped-down version that cut out add-ons to the spending plan but extended a suspension of the country’s debt limit.
Dec 19, 2024, 9:21 PM EST
Senators waiting for Johnson's 'Plan C'
As the funding bill went down in the House, senators were in a holding pattern with the clock ticking down with little time to avert a shutdown.
Most Senate Republicans, many of whom initially supported the original bipartisan deal that Trump shot down, say they're now waiting to see what Speaker Mike Johnson, in concert with Vice President-elect JD Vance and other House leaders will come up with to salvage this situation.
Sen. Susan Collins speaks with reporters after meeting with Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to be defense secretary, on Capitol Hill, Dec. 11, 2024, in Washington.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
"I'm waiting for Speaker Johnson's Plan C," Sen. John Cornyn, R-TX, told reporters as it appeared that a second government funding proposal in so many days would fail to make it to the Senate.
But what that Plan C is, no one seems to know. The Senate remains crouched in a wait-and-see posture,
Sen. Susan Collins, the top Republican on the Appropriations Committee, said she could envision a totally clean, three-week, short-term funding bill as a possible stopgap to buy lawmakers a bit more time to address Trump's 11th-hour demand that the debt limit be addressed. But she doesn't like the concept.
"It's a scenario that I can imagine but I don't imagine that it is the preferred way to proceed," Collins said. "I don't know what the plan is now."
-ABC News' Allison Pecorin
Dec 19, 2024, 8:59 PM EST
House Republican defends his vote against funding bill
House Republicans who defied Trump and Johnson defended their decision to vote against the temporary government funding measure. Some even appeared to accept a looming shutdown.
"I just voted my conscience," Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee said when asked why he voted against Trump's demands. "I have a hard time voting for a bill over a trillion dollars that I haven't even been able to read yet."
Rep. Tim Burchett waits to do a TV news interview in the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 18, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP
Burchett posted "Shut it down" on X and told reporters he'd be open to a shutdown "if that's what it takes to bring us to the table."
"I just, I hurt for people that this is going to hurt but, but I tell you what, collapsing our government under our lack of fiscal restraint and acting like a bunch of spoiled kids is not doing our people any service, and we can do a whole heck of a lot better," Burchett added.
