As of this morning, there is no clear "Plan C" for addressing government funding that expires at the end of today after an alternative continuing resolution (CR) to extend government funding through March 14, 2025, and provide disaster relief, a one-year farm bill extension, health provisions, and a suspension of the federal debt limit through January 30, 2027, failed in a House vote last evening. That second version of the CR dropped provisions deemed by some to be extraneous, including a congressional pay raise, funding for the Key Bridge in Baltimore, and provisions addressing outbound investment and pharmacy benefit managers. The vote was 174-235, with 1 vote of "present," 38 Republicans voting "no," and 2 Democrats "yes." There were some indications that dropping the debt limit issue may be required for a CR to pass, either with the remainder of the second CR intact or as just a temporary extension of government funding.

Efforts to avoid a government shutdown, as Congress was slated to head into the holiday break, will likely continue today, although both sides were trading recriminations into the night. "The Democrats just voted to shut down the government even though we had a clean CR, because they didn't want to give the president negotiating leverage during his first term — the first year of his new term," VP-elect JD Vance said last night. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said, "House Republicans have abandoned that bipartisan agreement that we entered into in good faith. A bill that House Republicans negotiated, gave us your word that we were going to move forward together on behalf of the American people."

The original December 17 CR to extend government funding through March 14, plus disaster relief, farm bill, health, and many other provisions that had been developed over weeks of bipartisan discussions, was toppled in less than two days from its release over objections from conservatives and the incoming Administration that it was too broad and gave too much to Democrats. Some had been calling for the CR to be put on the House floor on Wednesday in a "rip off the Band-aid" move before objections could coalesce.

Elon Musk, appointed to a role in the incoming Trump administration as co-head of a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and some House Republicans later Wednesday criticized the bill for holding Democratic priorities, including possibly blocking an investigation of the January 6 committee. On social media, Musk held open the possibility of shutting down the government until President-elect Trump's inauguration on January 20 and not passing any additional legislation until then. President- elect Trump followed with a statement calling for a streamlined continuing resolution and addressing the federal debt limit, which is widely viewed as a high hurdle with just days to go before a government shutdown.

The suspension of the debt limit enacted under the June 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) expires January 1, but action was not expected to be required until perhaps mid-year, taking into account the ability of the Treasury Department to utilize extraordinary measures in the near term. "The most foolish and inept thing ever done by Congressional Republicans was allowing our country to hit the debt ceiling in 2025. It was a mistake and is now something that must be addressed … " Trump said in a joint statement with Vance, who is currently an Ohio Senator. "Increasing the debt ceiling is not great but we'd rather do it on Biden's watch. If Democrats won't cooperate on the debt ceiling now, what makes anyone think they would do it in June during our administration? Let's have this debate now. And we should pass a streamlined spending bill that doesn't give Chuck Schumer and the Democrats everything they want." President-elect Trump made statements suggesting he is interested in forestalling the debt limit as an issue that could hamstring his incoming administration, repeatedly referring to it as "Democratic quicksand."

The Trump-Vance statement seemed to refer to the January 6 committee element of the CR, saying it would "give sweetheart provisions for government censors and for Liz Cheney" by blocking the records of the committee. Trump and Vance called for agricultural and disaster provisions to be retained but other extraneous provisions dropped. "Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH. If Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, then CALL THEIR BLUFF. It is Schumer and Biden who are holding up aid to our farmers and disaster relief," they stated.

The stern new approach just days before the expiration of government funding and the planned holiday break for Congress, and the thousands of employees who support its operations, drew the ire of even Republicans like Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), who said Trump and company should have made their views known earlier. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), who played a role in prior congressional budget disagreements, said, "It's a little bit late in the game to be putting debt ceiling on this anyway," CNN reported.

Democratic support for the second CR evaporated with negotiated provisions dropped and suspicions that a debt limit increase now is a means of clearing the decks for tax legislation in 2025. "Why would we help them pass the tax cut for billionaires and corporations?" Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) said in Semafor. He later said on the floor, "Why are Trump and his billionaire advisors bullying the media into submission and threatening to throw his political opponents in jail? Because their plan is to give themselves huge tax cuts and make regular people pay for it, and they don't want anyone to hold them accountable."

Trump has presided over shutdowns before, including a 35-day lapse — the longest ever — over the holiday break of 2018 into 2019, rooted in a congressional dispute over immigration issues. Some Republicans have been calling for another shutdown.

Democratic votes had always been expected to be required to pass the funding measure, with some conservatives opposed to disaster relief spending and to CRs generally. Grumbling over the original bipartisan CR loaded with year-end priorities portended the difficulty Republicans could have next year with narrow majorities. The latest events are seen by some as foreshadowing a mercurial style of governing with a role for social media to dash, or prop up, what Congress is doing. And Speaker Johnson, who must be re-elected to the House's top position, could be held accountable for negotiating a failed CR with Democrats.

"The episode could preview a new dynamic for Republicans next year, as Musk and other Trump allies hover over the party's ambitious legislative agenda, offering counsel privately and then publicly whipping up opposition online and in conservative media if they don't like the results," a December 18 Wall Street Journal story said. "GOP detractors complained that Johnson conceded too much in talks with Democrats and allowed a bill intended as a simple stopgap measure to be crammed with unrelated provisions. Critics also complained that there isn't enough time for lawmakers to review such a massive bill."

Similarly, the Washington Post December 18 said, "The speed with which the GOP deserted Johnson's bill on Wednesday underscored how difficult the party's task could be next year, when Republicans will have control of the Senate and White House, but an even smaller margin in the House." Further, of Democratic add-ons to the initial CR, the story said, "Republicans grew so upset with the speaker over those provisions — even before Musk started attacking the bill — that a number of lawmakers have already said privately that they would not support him to retain his gavel in the next Congress."

The eleventh-hour difficulties in passing a government funding bill prompted some observers to suggest that concerns that Congress won't be able to move two budget reconciliation bills in 2025 are warranted. While some including House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) want one big bill headlined by border and tax issues early on, a group of conservatives led by Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) and House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-MD) wrote to GOP leaders December 18 saying "a two-step reconciliation process gives us the best chance of securing passage of this transformational border security legislation." They called for a second budget reconciliation bill to be primarily focused on preventing tax increases from taking effect on January 1, 2026, when some TCJA provisions are set to expire.

"To ensure passage, after factoring in the dynamic score of extending the Trump Tax Cuts, that reconciliation bill should reduce the deficit by including necessary spending reforms and cuts," the letter stated. "This includes, but is not limited to, repealing the green tax credits in Democrats' so-called 'Inflation Reduction Act' and the estimated $2.5 trillion worth of cuts that the Department of Government Efficiency will identify as necessary to restore the fiscal health of the nation."

Pending the outcome of congressional efforts to extend government funding and send lawmakers home for a holiday break, the next edition of What to Expect in Washington may not be published until January.