The Chief Chaos Agent is back: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to the online version of From the political editorial teaman evening newsletter bringing you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the election campaign.

In today’s issue, senior political reporter Jonathan Allen writes that the battle to shut down the government shows that Donald Trump is bringing chaos back to Washington even before he takes office. We also have the latest on House Republicans’ plan to avert a shutdown.

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Trump supports Republicans’ new plan to prevent government shutdown

By Scott Wong, Sahil Kapur, Julie Tsirkin and Syedah Asghar

House Republicans released a new spending bill Thursday to avert a looming government shutdown, just hours after the original bipartisan agreement was torpedoed by President-elect Donald Trump.

The new bill, drafted by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Republican leaders, is supported by Trump but appears to face resistance from Democrats who have not signed it. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called the new proposal “ridiculous.”

The 116-page bill would fund the government through March 14, preventing a shutdown that is scheduled to begin at 12:01 a.m. Saturday. It would also extend the country’s debt limit until January 30, 2027, in response to a key request from Trump. It also includes disaster relief funds for recovery from hurricanes Helene and Milton and an extension of the farm bill.

Missing are provisions that had angered Trump and his right-wing allies, including cost-of-living increases for lawmakers and granting Washington, D.C., control of a stadium site that could be used by the NFL’s Washington Commanders.

House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said he expects a vote on the bill later Thursday. If the measure passes the House, it is unclear how the Democratic-led Senate will handle it.

Read the latest on the impending shutdown here →

📊 Survey says: An NBC News review of historical polling data shows that lawmakers have not paid a heavy political price in previous government shutdowns. Read more →

The chief chaos agent is back

By Jonathan Allen

Donald Trump is still a month away from his inauguration, but he’s already turning Capitol Hill into a mosh pit.

There are, of course, a handful of Cabinet members who will test Senate Republicans’ loyalty to him. They drew the line at former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who withdrew from consideration for attorney general and will still see an ethics report on his alleged misconduct released publicly.

Even more telling, Trump pushed the government toward a shutdown by instructing Republicans on Wednesday not to vote for a temporary funding bill sponsored by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

The truth is that the original bill was already in deep trouble, as MAGA-aligned conservatives fought loudly to defeat it. Billionaire Elon Musk, who funded his own super PAC to help Trump win, opposed the law by threatening election retaliation to any Republican who dared to support it. Only then, as defeat quickly became a given, did Trump put in the fork and reckon he had cooked dinner.

Then, on Thursday afternoon, he approved a revised framework. It remains to be seen whether the new plan will receive the necessary votes in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the Democratic-controlled Senate, but Trump’s approval is an important step. He was far more prominent in the discussions than incumbent President Joe Biden and was certainly a more mercurial character.

Whatever the outcome, the episode is a reminder of the chaos Trump is wreaking. To win a second term, he did not engage in creating crises. He promised to curb inflation, crack down on illegal immigration, raise tariffs, cut taxes and regulations, and spend less of Americans’ money on wars abroad.

Some of his plans could lead to systemic disruption—for example, the mass deportation of millions of illegal immigrants—but he refrained from selling himself as an agent seeking chaos for his own gain.

Now Trump’s second term is looking a little more like Trump’s first term.

None of this should surprise anyone who saw him as president for the first time. Where others see dysfunction and danger in a crisis, Trump sees an opportunity to gain the upper hand.

In Trump’s book, the risks of chaos rarely outweigh the potential benefits. So buckle up, Washington.

That’s all from the Politics Desk for now. If you have any feedback – likes or dislikes – email us at [email protected]

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