President-elect Donald Trump endorsed a new Republican deal Thursday afternoon to avert a government shutdown and raise the nation’s debt limit for two years, after sinking the bipartisan agreement Speaker Mike Johnson originally struck with Democrats.
"All Republicans, and even the Democrats, should do what is best for our Country and vote 'YES' for this Bill, TONIGHT!" Trump wrote.
The news caught House Democrats by surprise, and the caucus is expected to meet Thursday afternoon to discuss the new deal. Johnson will almost certainly need their votes to pass the bill, text of which was released shortly after Trump expressed approval.
The House is expected to vote on the plan as early as 6 p.m. on Thursday, according to three Republicans, ahead of the government shutdown deadline Friday at midnight.
The plan Johnson is expected to put on the House floor would fund the government through March 14, just like the spending patch he agreed to with Democrats, and also includes the $110 billion disaster aid package mirroring that bipartisan negotiation. But the measure contains a straightforward extension of current "farm bill" policy for food and agriculture programs, along with a simple renewal of expiring health care policy, rather than making changes to those programs and adding new policy like overhauling rules for pharmacy benefit managers.
Trump on Wednesday derailed Johnson’s plan to pass a more than 1,500-page catch-all measure he negotiated with top Democrats earlier this week to avert a government shutdown, deliver more than $100 billion in disaster aid and enact a slew of unrelated policy priorities.
Shortly after the new Republican agreement was announced, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) already said he was opposed to the plan — an attitude other conservatives are certain to share.
"It's a water-downed version of the same crappy bill people were mad about yesterday," he said on The Sean Hannity Show.
Jordain Carney, Olivia Beavers, Nicholas Wu and Daniella Diaz contributed to this report.
