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Evening Report

Thursday, Dec. 19

House to vote on plan B bill as Congress nears shutdown deadline

IT'S HIGH DRAMA ON CAPITOL HILL, as Republicans race to meet a Friday deadline to pass a funding bill and avoid a government shutdown.

Shortly before 3 p.m. EDT, House Republicans emerged from Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) office to announce they'd come to an agreement on a pared-back continuing resolution (CR).

President-elect Trump immediately announced his support for the new measure. "SUCCESS in Washington! Speaker Mike Johnson and the House have come to a very good Deal for the American People."

The House is expected to vote tonight.

The details are beginning to emerge, via The Hill's Mychael Schnell: "A three-month continuing resolution and a two-year suspension of the debt ceiling…roughly $100 billion in disaster relief and about $10 billion for farmer economic assistance…language that would provide lawmakers with a pay raise was removed…a one-year extension of the 2018 farm bill."

The odds of a shutdown have been growing throughout the day, but that's not the only thing at stake: Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) is facing questions about his future as the House GOP leader.

Trump is directly targeting conservative lawmakers with threats of a primary challenge. And Trump caught Republicans completely off-guard by demanding any spending package also raise the debt limit.

Johnson's (R-La.) office has been a revolving door, with top Republicans working furiously to secure a new deal after Trump and Elon Musk stepped in at the last minute to sink an agreement between Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) that would have funded the government into mid-March.

Congress has until midnight Friday to take care of business.

The Office of Management and Budget has begun communicating with agencies about a potential shutdown.

Trump signaled he'd be fine with a shutdown if he doesn't get what he wants.

"If we don't get it, then we're going to have a shutdown, but it'll be a Biden shutdown, because shutdowns only inure to the person who's president," Trump told ABC's Jonathan Karl.

Can House Republicans put together a spending package that satisfies Trump and garners enough Democratic support to get through the House and Senate?

Jeffries said the bipartisan CR that Trump and Musk torpedoed is still the "best path" forward, but he didn't rule out potentially supporting a smaller bill.

DEBT CEILING MONKEY WRENCH

Trump's demand to do away with the debt ceiling, which Republicans have in the past used to extract spending concessions, complicated the negotiations.

"The Democrats have said they want to get rid of it. If they want to get rid of it, I would lead the charge," Trump told NBC.

There are early report that the new agreement would suspend the debt ceiling for two years.

Trump also said that any lawmaker opposes lifting the debt ceiling should face a primary.

He directly threatened Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a staunch conservative fiscal hawk, with a primary challenge.

Roy, like most conservatives, has opposed raising the debt ceiling. He was among the first to criticize Johnson's spending package as too expensive.

Some conservatives were baffled by the threat, although Trump has previously gone after Roy for backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in the GOP primary.

"My position is simple - I am not going to raise or suspend the debt ceiling (racking up more debt) without significant & real spending cuts attached to it," Roy posted on X. "I've been negotiating to that end. No apologies."

Democrats have in the past advocated for getting rid of the debt limit, accusing Republicans of playing politics that have taken the country to the brink of default.

But Jeffries and other Democrats dismissed Trump's demand, describing it as a ploy to borrow more money to enact Trump's tax cuts.

"Hard pass," Jeffries said.

Other Democrats were open to the idea.

"For years I have urged my colleagues for years to permanently eliminate the debt ceiling, which has never reduced our national debt," Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) posted on X. "Let's abolish the debt limit for good."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) added:

"Congress should terminate the debt limit and never again govern by hostage taking."

Senate Republicans were caught off guard by Trump's demand.

"I don't know his rationale," said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the top GOP appropriator.

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who will be the Senate Majority Leader in the next Congress, indicated that it's not a top priority for the lame-duck Congress.

"I think that at some point we're going to have to deal with that. It's coming. How we deal with it, I'm open to suggestions," he said.

JOHNSON'S SPEAKERSHIP IN QUESTION

The funding debacle has provoked questions about Speaker Johnson's future and whether someone else is better equipped to lead the House GOP conference in the next Congress.

Trump on Thursday sent mixed signals about whether Johnson should be the next Speaker.

"We'll see," he told NBC News. "[The funding deal] they had yesterday was unacceptable."

Later, he told Fox News Digital that there might be a window of opportunity for Johnson to remain Speaker.

"If the Speaker acts decisively, and tough, and gets rid of all of the traps being set by the Democrats, which will economically and, in other ways, destroy our country, he will easily remain Speaker."

The election for Speaker will take place when the new Congress is sworn in 15 days from now.

Johnson had Trump's blessing and appeared to be on a smooth path to another term as Speaker until chaos erupted Wednesday.

Congressional Republicans are already mulling whether Johnson is up for the job, with Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) calling current GOP leadership "a disaster."

"We're going to need new leadership," Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) told conservative influencer Benny Johnson. "We've got new leadership in the Senate in the coming year. And I believe that the writing's on the wall, unless I'm just mistaken, it seems to me that new leadership in the House is almost inevitable."

There is no rule stating that the Speaker has to be a member of the House or a member of Congress, leading some Republicans to consider whether Musk is an option.

"Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk . . . think about it . . . nothing's impossible," Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) posted on X. "(not to mention the joy at seeing the collective establishment, aka 'uniparty,' lose their ever-lovin' minds)."

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) echoed that sentiment.

"I'd be open to supporting @elonmusk for Speaker of the House. DOGE can only truly be accomplished by reigning in Congress to enact real government efficiency," Greene wrote on X.

💡Perspectives:

• The Washington Post: There they go again.

• MSNBC: Congress' worst Christmas tradition is underway.

• The Wall Street Journal: Good riddance to the 118th Congress.

• The Washington Post: The risks of declaring fealty to Trump.

• The Hill: Trump is 'painting targets' for political retribution.

Read more:

• Live updates: Shutdown looms.

• Shutdown odds rapidly rise as House seeks plan B.

• Republicans announce funding agreement, Thursday vote.

Welcome to Evening Report! I'm Jonathan Easley, catching you up from the afternoon and what's coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.

CATCH UP QUICK

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Amazon workers have gone on strike at several facilities as the Teamsters seek a new labor contract.
California declared a state of emergency over the bird flu.

NEWS THIS AFTERNOON

Willis disqualified from Trump Georgia election case

A Georgia appeals court Thursday kicked Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) off the 2020 election interference case against President-elect Trump due to her relationship with a top prosecutor.

The court said Willis's relationship with Nathan Wade, a former prosecutor on the case, represented a "significant appearance of impropriety."

It's a stunning fall for Willis, who rose to prominence by leading a high-profile prosecution against Trump over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The court did not dismiss the prosecution outright. It's possible that another prosecutor could take over.

However, the case is hanging by a thread and complicated by Trump's victory in the presidential election.

Trump's legal team has sought to dismiss all his criminal prosecutions, citing his impending return to the White House.

"The case is entirely dead," Trump said in a social media post. "Everybody should receive an apology, including those wonderful patriots who have been caught up in this for years."

Read more:

• NY governor: Trump would need to show remorse for hush money pardon.

• Trump attorneys claim 'grave juror misconduct' during hush money trial.

• Eric Adams' former top aide indicted.

• DOJ reviewing complaints against Jack Smith's team.

IN OTHER NEWS

Senators seek Hegseth's FBI background

• Republican senators are pushing to see the FBI's background check for Pete Hegseth, who Trump has tapped to lead the Department of Defense.

Politico reports that the Senate Armed Services typically restricts access to the report, but is facing pressure from lawmakers seeking information about the allegations made against Hegseth.

"It would be helpful, given the allegations that have been lodged against Mr. Hegseth, to be able to see the FBI background check," Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told Politico.

• Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who Trump has tapped to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, is open to restricting access to the abortion pill mifepristone if Trump wants to. Kennedy has faced some conservative opposition over his pro-abortion views.

💡Perspectives:

• Tablet: How Obama built a thought machine and how it was destroyed.

• The American Prospect: Bidenomics in the rearview mirror.

• The Nation: The difference that matters most isn't between left and right.

• The Wall Street Journal: Higher Ed is in trouble.

• The Hill: Murder is bad.

Read more:

• How the White House functioned with a diminished Biden in charge.

• Trump border czar: 100K beds, more ICE agents needed for deportations.

• Reproductive health advocates brace for Title X challenges under Trump.

• How drone activity could affect US holiday travel plans.

State Watch: FAA bans drones in parts of New Jersey

• The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a temporary ban on drone activity in some cities across New Jersey, citing "special security reasons" for the restrictions. The Biden administration has said repeatedly that the proliferation of drone sightings are innocuous. In a joint statement earlier this week, the FAA, FBI, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense downplayed the sightings, saying they were a combination of "lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones."

• States and municipalities are gearing up to take the lead on climate action, as they brace for President-elect Trump to be antagonistic to their efforts. The Hill's Zack Budryk reports:

"The change in leadership in Washington will likely leave climate policy largely in the hands of state and city governments that have already taken ambitious steps to combat climate change during both the Biden and first Trump administrations."

The Biden administration on Thursday raised America's commitment to reducing greenhouse gas under the Paris Climate Agreement.