(AFP) – US lawmakers geared up Tuesday for a crunch vote on a stopgap plan to avert a government shutdown that would pile more pain on the economic chaos marring President Donald Trump’s early weeks in office. Republicans have released a bill to keep the government funded through September 30 that would give Trump the summer months to steer his agenda of tax cuts, mass deportations, and boosted energy production through Congress.
House Speaker Mike Johnson hopes to advance the legislation through the House in a late afternoon vote, with Senate approval envisioned before Friday night’s midnight shutdown deadline. It is a high-wire act for Johnson, who has to corral backbenchers who reliably vote against stopgaps — known as continuing resolutions (CRs) — because they mostly freeze spending rather than making cuts. “We’ll have the votes. We’re going to pass the CR. We can do it on our own,” Johnson told reporters at the US Capitol. “But what I’m saying is Democrats ought to do the responsible thing, follow their own advice in every previous scenario, and keep the government open.”
The threat of a weekend shutdown comes with Wall Street reeling under Trump’s trade war and radical cuts to federal spending that have seen tens of thousands of layoffs. Traders had initially reacted with optimism to the Republican billionaire’s election, but fears over a potential recession are growing over warnings that tariffs imposed on key trading partners will reignite inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged by nearly 900 points on Monday as a three-week market sell-off intensified, while the Nasdaq composite suffered its worst day since 2022. If Congress fails to act, there will be more economic misery as the government grinds to a halt, potentially leading to tens of thousands of public employees being sent home without pay as federal agencies shutter.
House Democratic leadership is whipping against the 99-page CR, which would drop domestic spending by about $13 billion from 2024 levels, while increasing defense spending by about $6 billion. The latest funding fight comes with Trump pushing unprecedented federal firings as he begins unilaterally shrinking or shuttering agencies from USAID to the Department of Education.
The drive is being spearheaded by Trump aide Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, who has enraged much of the country and Congress — including Republican lawmakers — with his seemingly haphazard approach. While Musk enjoys Trump’s confidence, polling shows he is deeply unpopular among ordinary Americans, and his cuts have sparked angry confrontations between Republicans and their constituents at town halls. “The Republican continuing resolution that the House is expected to vote on today will hurt hardworking Americans,” said Rosa DeLauro, the Democrats’ top House lawmaker on government funding. “This blank check to unelected billionaire Elon Musk fails to lower the cost of housing and instead cuts rent subsidies for low-income and working Americans by more than $700 million.”
The White House has been marshalling its top officials — from chief of staff Susie Wiles and Vice President JD Vance to Trump himself — to work the phones and meet would-be dissidents in person. Congress needs a CR because it is so evenly split that it has been unable to approve the 12 separate bills that allocate full 2025 budgets for various federal agencies. But Johnson’s tiny 218-214 majority means he cannot afford much dissent — two of his lawmakers switching sides would tank the bill if Democrats put up a united front. He is already dealing with one confirmed “no” vote — fiscal conservative Thomas Massie — and Trump vowed Monday to unseat the Kentucky congressman in the midterm elections.
In the Senate, Democrats are under pressure to offer strong opposition to Trump’s agenda but are wary of blocking the CR, fearing that they would be blamed for the resulting shutdown. Republicans have to clear anything the House passes by a 60-vote threshold, and one conservative has indicated he will be a no, meaning Majority Leader John Thune needs the support of at least eight Democrats.
– Frankie TAGGART
© 2024 AFP
