‘Hell no’: House Dems erupt over GOP spending deal

House Democrats are balking at the latest iteration of a spending plan that was released on Thursday by Speaker Mike Johnson.

“The Musk-Johnson proposal is not serious, it’s laughable. Extreme MAGA Republicans are driving us to a government shutdown,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. 

Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., indicated Democratic leadership would whip their members to vote “no” on the deal.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., lamented that the last deal had been blown up by opposition from conservatives, with input from DOGE leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. 

“Everybody agreed,” he said, “and then it was blown up by Elon Musk, who apparently has become the fourth branch of government. And that’s just an intolerable way of proceeding.”

“Democrats are going to try to figure out how we can salvage the public good as the wreckage that’s just been pushed.”

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Chants of “hell no” could be heard inside the room where Democrats were meeting after the bill’s text was released. 

The newest continuing resolution, or CR, would extend current government funding levels for three months and also suspend the debt limit for two years, something President-elect Trump has demanded.

It comes after the original 1,500-page CR drew opposition from the right, due to policy and funding riders.

House lawmakers could vote on the new bill as early as Thursday evening.

It’s not immediately clear if the new deal would pass – Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who also led opposition to the initial bill, also blasted the new deal.

“More debt. More government. Increasing the Credit Card $4 trillion with ZERO spending restraint and cuts. HARD NO,” Roy wrote on X.

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With $36 trillion in debt and a $1.8 trillion deficit in 2024, some conservatives are against a CR, which punts the funding deadline to March and keeps spending at 2024 levels, entirely.

Without conservative Republicans’ votes, Johnson will need to rely on Democrats to help get spending legislation across the House floor. 

Trump praised the deal minutes after Fox News Digital reported its contents.

The deal also includes aid for farmers and roughly $110 billion in disaster relief funding for Americans impacted by storms Helene and Milton.

It would also include certain health care provisions minus reforms to the Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) system that some Republicans and Democrats were pushing for – but others vehemently opposed.

Trump said of the deal, “Speaker Mike Johnson and the House have come to a very good Deal for the American People. The newly agreed to American Relief Act of 2024 will keep the Government open, fund our Great Farmers and others, and provide relief for those severely impacted by the devastating hurricanes.”

“All Republicans, and even the Democrats, should do what is best for our Country, and vote ‘YES’ for this Bill, TONIGHT!” he wrote.

Shortly after Fox News Digital’s report, House leaders released the legislative text of the bill. It came in at about 116 pages, a far cry from their original 1,547-page legislation.

It comes after conservatives led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy torpedoed Speaker Mike Johnson’s initial government funding plan on Wednesday, prompting fears of a partial government shutdown right before the holidays.

GOP hardliners were furious about what they saw as unrelated measures and policy riders being added to the bill at the last minute.

House Republicans began negotiations for a “clean” bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), but those were also upended when Trump urged GOP lawmakers to pair a CR with action on the debt limit – which was expected to be a contentious battle in the first half of next year.

Musk and Ramaswamy also lent their voices to the fight, with Musk calling on any Republican who supported the deal to lose their House seats.

In addition to averting a partial government shutdown through March 14, the bill also included a provision to allow for the revitalization of RFK stadium in Washington, D.C.; permits to sell ethanol fuel year-round; and the first pay raise for lawmakers since 2009 – both measures that did not get into the latest deal.