Republicans pitch new spending plan amid backlash and Trump opposition

House Republican leaders plan to bring up a new, short-term federal funding bill that strips out provisions, pay raises and spending that drew opposition from conservatives and President-elect Donald Trump.

The House could vote as early as tonight on the measure, lawmakers told The Washington Times. Congress faces a Friday midnight deadline to pass a spending bill in order to avoid triggering a partial government shutdown.

The measure was produced after hours of negotiations between GOP leaders and Mr. Trump, who called the earlier version “ridiculous.”

“The president was instrumental in brokering the deal,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, Florida Republican, posted on X. 

Mr. Trump, posting on social media, called it “a very good deal for the American people.” 

The new bill follows a command from Mr. Trump that Republicans produce a “clean” measure and ditch a compromise bill negotiated with Democrats that was loaded up with controversial provisions.

So far, House Democrats haven’t indicated whether they’ll support it nor has Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, New York Democrat, signaled whether he would bring it to the floor for a vote.

President Biden would also have to sign the legislation. 

The new bill would also extend the nation’s borrowing limit for two years, heeding Mr. Trump’s request to push it beyond an estimated June 2025 deadline.

Mr. Trump said the new debt ceiling extension would allow him to implement his agenda more easily.

“Now we can Make America Great Again, very quickly, which is what the People gave us a mandate to accomplish,” he said Thursday afternoon. 

The legislation mirrors some of the provisions in the now-ditched original bill.

It would extend federal funding until March and would include more than $100 billion for hurricane disaster relief and $10 billion in aid for farmers.

The new measure excludes provisions that drew backlash from the GOP, including one that would have permitted year-round sales of higher-ethanol blend gasoline. The new version also removes reforms to pharmacy benefit managers.