Washington [US], December 19: Republicans have rejected a bipartisan spending bill that could trigger a government shutdown without a backup plan.
According to The Washington Post on December 18, the bill submitted by US House Speaker Mike Johnson was criticized by President-elect Donald Trump , billionaire Elon Musk and many other Republican congressmen, claiming that it contains many policies that favor the Democratic Party.
After Trump's criticism, Johnson was forced to revise the bill. If Congress fails to pass a spending plan, federal work will begin to stop on December 21 and will stop completely on December 23.
On the evening of December 17, Mr. Mike Johnson announced a bill to extend federal spending until March 14, 2025, spending more than 110 billion USD to support disaster survivors and 10 billion USD to support farmers.
Mr Trump asked Mr Johnson to cancel the terms negotiated by Democrats and to extend the moratorium on the debt ceiling, which limits how much the US government can borrow. The president-elect agreed to support aid for natural disasters and farmers.
Writing on social network X, billionaire Elon Musk said: "Your elected representatives listened and now this terrible bill is dead. The voice of the people has won." Previously, he also had dozens of posts criticizing the bill.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said the bill is a necessary stopgap measure until Republicans take control of both houses of Congress next term, according to CNN. Johnson has not outlined a backup plan and sources familiar with the matter say the next move is unclear, as the bill would need significant support from both parties and Mr. Trump.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
