Donald Trump has spoken out after the House of Representatives rejected his new plan to fund the federal operations and suspend the debt ceiling a day before a government shutdown.
In a statement posted on Truth Social, the President-elect said: “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.”
The House voted late on Thursday against the Trump-endorsed spending package by 235 votes to 174, with 38 Republican rebels joining Democrats.
The plan would have averted a partial U.S. government shutdown that could begin this weekend, and could have suspended the U.S. debt ceiling by two years.
Evan Vucci/AP
It came after Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance attacked the original bipartisan spending bill that had been agreed by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson.
“Congress is considering a spending bill that would give sweetheart provisions for government censors and for Liz Cheney,” they wrote in a joint statement posted on Truth Social.
“The bill would make it easier to hide the records of the corrupt January 6 committee—which accomplished nothing for the American people and hid security failures that happened that day. This bill would also give Congress a pay increase while many Americans are struggling this Christmas.”
They added: “Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH. If Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, then CALL THEIR BLUFF. It is Schumer and Biden who are holding up aid to our farmers and disaster relief.”
The bill was also fiercely opposed by tech billionaire Elon Musk, co-head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, leading Democrats to mockingly brand him “President Elon Musk.”
“‘Shutting down’ the government (which doesn’t actually shut down critical functions btw) is infinitely better than passing a horrible bill,” Musk wrote in one post on X, formerly Twitter.
The U.S. debt ceiling, a congressionally set legal limit on how much debt the country can accumulate, currently sits at $31.4 trillion, having been increased 78 times since 1960.
Unless it is increased further or suspended outright, Trump could struggle to secure approval for the tax cuts he pledged during his election campaign.
One of the House Republicans who rebelled against the Trump-backed bill was Chip Roy from Texas, who accused his colleagues backing the legislation of “never having any ounce of self-respect.”
“I am absolutely sickened by a party that campaigns on fiscal responsibility and has the temerity to go forward to the American people and say you think this is fiscally responsible. It is absolutely ridiculous,” he wrote on X.
