Trump announces new plan to avoid government shutdown, lift US debt ceiling

President-elect Donald Trump has announced a new plan to fund the government and lift the debt ceiling, a day before a government shutdown. He praised Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans for coming to a “very good Deal,” urging Congress to swiftly pass it in votes as soon as Thursday evening. The legislation would keep the government running for three more months, include disaster assistance for hurricane-hit states, and allow for more borrowing through January 2027.


Some Republicans are gunning to blame their Democratic counterparts if the new bill falters, though others are planning to vote against it. Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the new plan “laughable.”

The deadline to keep the government open is Friday, December 20. Elon Musk brought the original bipartisan budget proposal to a halt by posting constantly on his X megaphone and threatening Republicans with primary challenges. Before the new deal was reached, Congressional Democrats mocked their GOP counterparts, with several suggesting Trump had been relegated to vice president.


The White House said President Joe Biden opposes the House Republican spending bill, saying, “Republicans are doing the bidding of their billionaire benefactors at the expense of hardworking Americans.” The bill paves the way for tax breaks for billionaires while cutting critical programs working families count on, from Social Security to Head Start. She added: “President Biden supports the bipartisan agreement to keep the government open, help communities recovering from disasters, and lower costs — not this giveaway for billionaires that Republicans are proposing at the 11th hour.”

House Republicans reached a last-minute deal that could fend off a weekend government shutdown, just 24 hours after President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk blew up a bipartisan compromise proposed by Speaker Mike Johnson. The new plan, negotiated solely among Republicans, would fund the government at existing spending levels until mid-March, send $110 billion for natural disaster survivors, and extend the sweeping agricultural and anti-poverty law known as the farm bill, among other provisions. It also includes a last-minute demand by Trump to address the debt ceiling, a limit on how much the U.S. government can borrow, by suspending the limit until early 2027, extending a current suspension that was set to expire on Jan. 1, 2025.