House Republicans have struck a deal on a backup plan for averting a government shutdown by Friday’s deadline.
Multiple sources told Fox News Digital the deal would extend current government funding levels for three months and also suspend the debt limit for two years, something President-elect Trump has demanded.
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 affected 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 that others vehemently opposed.
‘Speaker Mike Johnson and the House have come to a very good Deal for the American People,’ Trump wrote of the deal. ‘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!’.
Meanwhile, the national debt has recently exceeded $36 trillion and continues to grow. The national deficit is over $1 trillion.
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 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.
The original plan, which was bipartisan, was declared ‘dead’ by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., as he left the U.S. Capitol Wednesday night.
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.
House lawmakers may vote on the new bill as early as Thursday evening.
But it’s not immediately clear if it 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.
And House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters on the way into a closed-door meeting of the House Democratic Caucus, ‘The Musk-Johnson proposal is not serious. It’s laughable. Extreme MAGA Republicans are driving us to a government shutdown.’
Fox News’ Kelly Phares contributed to this report
