House Republicans are eyeing an alternative government funding stopgap that excludes a debt ceiling increase, and are instead working on a commitment to raise the borrowing limit twice next year in a bid to appease President-elect Trump, two sources told The Hill.
The new continuing resolution — which is still being hashed out and could change — would be similar to the spending plan Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) rolled out earlier this week, minus a handful of policy provisions, including language that would provide lawmakers with a pay raise, the sources said.
Instead of including the debt ceiling increase in the stopgap — which would be difficult to approve amid Democratic opposition — House Republicans are working on a commitment to raise the borrowing limit twice next year through reconciliation, once at the beginning of the calendar and again later on.
“They want a commitment from the Republicans that we can move during reconciliation and support a debt ceiling increase so that President Trump can function and do what he needs to do,” one of the sources said.
The sources said they expect the stopgap to still run through March 14, the same as Johnson’s initial package. Both sources, however, cautioned that conversations are still ongoing.
Some of Trump’s government affairs staffers are in the meeting, the source said. James Braid, Trump’s incoming director of legislative affairs, has been going in and out of Johnson’s office.
Johnson's office declined to comment.
Trump threw a curveball into the government funding talks Wednesday when he called for a debt limit increase as part of a stopgap in order to avoid it becoming a leverage point for Democrats after he takes office, calling it a “nasty TRAP." But dealing with a debt limit increase in reconciliation, which bypasses the Senate filibuster and the requirement to get approval from Democrats, could get around that political hurdle.
News of the plan B came as an ideologically diverse group of House Republicans huddled in Johnson’s office amid the government funding negotiations, with the Friday-at-midnight shutdown deadline inching closer.
It remains unclear whether Trump would support the new plan; he has been adamant about dealing with the borrowing ceiling now, going as far as to call for abolishing the borrowing limit entirely.
Getting rid of the debt ceiling is the “smartest thing it [Congress] could do. I would support that entirely,” Trump told NBC News on Thursday.
Another looming question is whether Democrats would be on board with a new, more narrowly tailored continuing resolution. Democrats suggested they would only support the initial package immediately after Trump torpedoed it, but House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) left the door open to backing a smaller measure.
Asked Thursday whether Democrats could support a stopgap that includes only government funding, aid for farmers and help for victims of natural disasters, Jeffries did not offer a definitive rejection.
“House Democrats are going to continue to fight for families, farmers and the future of working-class Americans,” Jeffries told reporters in the Capitol. “And in order to do that, the best path forward is the bipartisan agreement that we negotiated.”
Pressed if that means Democrats could support an alternative version of the CR, Jeffries again declined to close the door on that option.
“We are prepared to move forward with the bipartisan agreement that we thought was negotiated in good faith with House Republicans — along with Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans — that meets the needs of the American people at this moment in time,” he said.
“We are fighting for everyday Americans — not for millionaires and billionaires,” he continued. “We are fighting for everyday Americans who will be hurt by a reckless Republican shutdown.”
