Trump and Vance criticize the government financing agreement negotiated by Johnson and call for an increase in the debt ceiling

CNN
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President-elect Donald Trump delivered a letter to Capitol Hill on Wednesday that significantly increased the likelihood of a government shutdown just before Christmas while sending the clearest signal yet that he is seeking a dramatic showdown with Democrats over spending.

Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance on Wednesday sharply criticized a deal to fund the federal government through March 14 negotiated by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, undermining support for the plan on Capitol Hill. just a few days before the closing deadline.

Trump and Vance criticized the bill for containing what they saw as Democratic priorities, but also raised the politically sensitive issue of the U.S. debt limit, which the country is on track to meet after it is reinstated in the new year.

“Republicans want to support our farmers, pay for disaster relief, and prepare our country for success in 2025,” Trump and Vance said in a statement. “The only way to achieve this is a temporary funding law WITHOUT DEMOCRATIC GIVEAWAYS combined with a debt ceiling increase. Anything else is a betrayal of our country.”

Multiple sources told CNN that Trump privately criticized the spending deal in conversations throughout Wednesday. That opposition sparked a row among Republican lawmakers, and Republicans on Capitol Hill described Trump’s opposition as the final death knell for Johnson’s spending deal. There was also the question of whether the Louisiana Republican would have Trump’s support in his own speaker’s race in just over two weeks.

Johnson unveiled the text of his government funding plan on Tuesday evening, but it was met with scathing criticism from the right wing of his party for being too supportive of Democratic priorities. Passing the bill in both chambers of Congress would likely require Democrats.

Then came the final statement from Trump and Vance, in which they called on Republicans to take a tough approach to spending. They called on Republicans to tie demands from the debt limit debate to the bill to keep the government open.

“Republicans need to get smart and tough. When Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, call their bluff,” Trump and Vance wrote in the statement.

“Let’s have this debate now,” they wrote about the debt limit. “And we should pass a simplified spending bill that doesn’t give Chuck Schumer and the Democrats everything they want.”

The last-minute grenade into the spending fight — after a bipartisan deal had already been reached — dramatically increases the risk of a Capitol Hill shutdown. Leading Democrats quickly signaled they would not agree to Trump’s new demands for a “streamlined” spending deal that rips billions of dollars out of measures that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries had already negotiated with Johnson.

“House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government. And they are hurting the working-class Americans they claim to support,” Jeffries wrote in a post on “If you break the bipartisan agreement, you will suffer the consequences that come with it.”

This story is current and will be updated.