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Congress struck an 11th-hour deal to avoid a government shutdown over the holidays, but in the process made President-elect Donald Trump’s already long to-do list even longer in his first year in office.
The funding bill would keep government offices open until March 14. Even though Republicans will control the White House, House and Senate, Democratic votes will be needed again to prevent a government shutdown within three months.
Additionally, President Trump’s request for Congress to extend or repeal the debt ceiling to eliminate it starting next year has failed dramatically. On Wednesday, he threatened to challenge “every Republican” in the primary who voted to fund the government without addressing the debt limit. On Friday, 170 House Republicans rebelled against him and did just that.
This week’s turmoil foreshadows the legislative chaos that awaits Washington in the second Trump administration, when the president-elect faces a variety of important deadlines and ambitions.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said Republicans made a mistake in delaying funding until March 14 and instead approved a stopgap bill until the end of September next year to clear President Trump’s policies. He said he should have done so.
“I think it’s a little ridiculous,” he said of the new deadline. “Please don’t ask me to explain or defend this dysfunction.”
Kentucky Republican Rep. Andy Barr said late Friday that the “lessons learned” of the past few days are: Discord is the enemy of the cause of conservatism. ”
He urged President Trump and his team to avoid such situations in the future by presenting legislative demands “early” so Republicans can “clarify any differences” well in advance of the deadline. I advised him to do so.
“The House needs to hypercommunicate within its various factions,” Barr said. “The House requires over-communication.” [incoming Senate] majority leader [John] Mr. Thune, the House of Representatives, and the Senate need to communicate excessively with the administration. ”
The communication situation has been particularly bad over the past four days. A day after Chairman Mike Johnson announced the first bipartisan agreement, President Trump and billionaire confidant Elon Musk blew it up. He reiterated his plan to stop the government shutdown three more times, ultimately succeeding in defying President Trump’s most serious and last-minute request.
“I’m concerned,” said Michigan Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, who is up for re-election in 2026. So I fully expect this situation to continue and possibly get worse over the next two years. ”
On Thursday night, Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) downplayed what he called a “disjointed process” and said it was difficult for House Republicans and the Trump campaign to figure out “how to communicate with each other.” said it is a natural method.
“It’s going to be amazing. Do you know why it’s going to be great? Because now we know how to work together,” Van Orden said, adding that Speaker Johnson’s Plan B is the House of Commons. He spoke just before going up in flames.
Van Orden’s fellow Wisconsin senator Johnson was less bullish on keeping the first half of his 2025 agenda on track.
“There’s no question we’ve got a big mess on our hands,” Johnson said. “That’s why I try to under-promise and, if possible, over-promise.”
In addition to additional government funding deadlines and debt ceilings that must be addressed by mid-2025 to avoid a catastrophic default, Trump and the Republican Party will have to approve his appointments through the Senate, which will strengthen We want to pass major partisan legislation. Strengthen immigration enforcement and extend the expiring 2017 tax law.
When asked about the challenges facing Congress next year, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) deadpanned, “It’s not going to be boring.”
There are also questions about Mr. Musk’s role after his role in breaking up the original bipartisan funding agreement sent shockwaves across Capitol Hill.
“Many people on both sides of the aisle are deeply disturbed by billionaires threatening people if they don’t vote the right way,” said Michigan Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell.
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Virginia, said after the House vote that last week’s chaos “foreshadows something very ominous about next year,” noting that the Republican majority in the House next year will be even smaller. .
“I expect a lot of turmoil on the House Republican side because of President Trump’s platform of instability, chaos and chaos,” Connolly said.
He also questioned whether Republicans would be able to elect a speaker with a narrow majority on Jan. 3. It took 15 votes to elect a speaker at the beginning of the last Congress, but some far-right Republicans are upset with Speaker Johnson, who this week addressed the threat of a shutdown.
Mr Connolly said before the House of Commons went on holiday: “Given what we have just experienced, I go home tonight with a very anxious feeling.” “I think it’s very ominous and an omen.”
This article first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:
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