Washington [US], December 20: President-elect Donald Trump has put pressure on the US House of Representatives to not pass a spending bill and the current government is at risk of shutting down.
The Hill reported on December 19 that US House Speaker Mike Johnson is considering a "plan B" to fund the government's operations after a spending bill was rejected under the influence of President-elect Donald Trump . Sources said the new plan includes removing additional provisions in the 1,500-page plan, including disaster prevention and support for farmers. If Congress cannot agree on a spending plan, the US government will not have a budget to continue operating from midnight on December 21.
The key to the debt ceiling
Earlier, Democratic and Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives introduced a temporary budget bill that would extend government funding through mid-March 2025. The bill would fund government agencies at current levels and provide more than $100 billion in aid to states affected by natural disasters, in addition to $10 billion in aid to the agricultural sector. In addition, according to The Washington Post, the bill also includes other provisions that are favored by Democrats , such as pay raises for lawmakers and new regulations for health care plan administrators.
However, the central issue that Mr. Trump criticized was the debt ceiling. Mr. Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance issued a joint statement emphasizing the importance of raising the debt ceiling at this time with a reasonable spending bill. "Anything else is a betrayal of our country," according to the statement. The US debt ceiling has been suspended since June 2023 and will be applied again on January 2, 2025. The US debt level is currently $ 36,200 billion, according to CNN.
White House criticism
In response to the bill's rejection, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre criticized Mr Trump and Republicans for wanting a government shutdown. "Republicans need to stop playing politics with this bipartisan agreement. Otherwise, they will hurt hardworking Americans and cause unrest across the country," according to the statement. Ms Jean-Pierre warned that a government shutdown would hurt people during the holidays, threatening basic services from veterans to social security beneficiaries . "A deal is a deal. Republicans should keep their word," she urged.
Without a bill passed by Congress, the US government will partially shut down on December 21, disrupting everything from civil aviation to law enforcement , just before Christmas. The last US government shutdown was from December 22, 2018 to January 25, 2019, during Mr. Trump's first term. After meeting with Mr. Vance and top Republican leaders on December 18 (local time), Mr. Johnson said he had a "productive conversation," although he did not elaborate. Asked whether the deal under discussion included raising the debt ceiling, House Republican leader Steve Scalise said lawmakers "haven't gotten there yet."
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
