WASHINGTON — As Congress careened toward a Saturday midnight deadline to pass a government funding bill, legislators exclusively told Raw Story Friday that party leaders were negotiating through the “chaos” created by President-elect Donald Trump and his allies who sunk a deal that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) spent weeks brokering — making his future as House leader unknown.
A last-ditch effort funding bill indeed passed Friday night with a 366-34 vote in the House and 85-11 vote in the Senate, providing $100 billion in disaster aid, $10 billion in agricultural assistance to farmers and averting a government shutdown.
House Republicans tried to pass an 11th-hour spending bill on Thursday, which included a Trump demand to raise the debt ceiling, but it failed to pass Thursday night as 38 Republicans joined with Democrats to thwart the bill.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) told Raw Story Friday that Republicans "clearly" needed Democrats on board to get a bill passed before funding expired at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, which wouldn't happen with the debt ceiling language. Democrats got what they wanted in the bill, as the deal did not include raising the debt ceiling.
“Communications have been opened, number one,” Nadler said. “Number two, we will not discuss raising the debt ceiling until next year … because their motive for it is transparent. If we raise the debt ceiling now, they can lower taxes next year on the rich, as they did last time.”
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) took issue with Thursday's removal of language agreed upon by Republicans and Democrats to reign in pharmacy benefit managers after incoming Department of Government Efficiency leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy voiced opposition.
“The Trump people, they're causing the chaos right now, today, in the House, and as a result, some bad guys, middlemen, are getting in a position to rip off taxpayers and seniors,” Wyden said.
Wyden said he couldn’t believe that Trump was allowing “rip-off artists” to cheat on taxpayers and seniors after Trump called to “knock out the middlemen” at a press conference on Monday.
When asked by Raw Story if Johnson was doing a good job as a leader while trying to negotiate a deal that would prevent a government shutdown, Nadler said, “I don’t know.”
“I'm not a psychologist, but I can see with my own eyes what's going on,” Wyden said when asked if Johnson could be trusted.
After former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted last year, Johnson took over the role in October 2023 after a three-week leader-less period brought the House to a halt. Now, his future as Speaker of the House is in question as he struggled to broker a deal to avoid a shutdown.
“I think he’s done,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) told Raw Story.
Republicans expressed mixed feelings about Johnson's future after exiting an hours-long Friday meeting with Johnson held in the basement of the Capitol.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) was the only Republican to say he plans to oppose Johnson's reelection to the leadership role.
"I don't plan to enter it as a negotiation. I plan to just not vote for him. I have no asks. There's nothing I want in exchange for my vote," Massie told Raw Story.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) said he was unsure about voting for Johnson as it would be "more of the same" and "more can-kicking."
"I don't know. It's too early yet," Burchett told Raw Story. "Trump's gonna make a big play on that. He'll probably be the one to decide who the speaker will be."
When asked if Johnson's speakership is secure, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) said he supports him as of now, as Johnson worked on handling a new deal.
"Look, an hour is a lifetime in politics. We'll see," Norman told Raw Story. "Different day. Different time."
Other Republicans said they felt that Johnson's speakership was safe.
"I feel very comfortable," said Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL).
Darrell Issa told Raw Story Johnson has his "full support."
"If you say someone's on a tightrope wire, has it been a difficult job? The answer is 'yes,' but everyone else would be on that same wire," Issa said.
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