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Donald Trump and Elon Musk have lashed out after House Speaker Mike Johnson’s Plan B congressional spending bill, drafted at their insistence to include a suspension of the debt limit and remove a number of concessions to Democrats, was comprehensively defeated in the House of Representatives on Thursday night by 235 votes to 174.
The result is a major embarrassment for the incoming president and the GOP that leaves the US government once more hurtling towards a shutdown unless an alternative can be agreed by midnight tonight.
The president-elect responded by complaining in a statement: “Nearly every single House Democrat just voted against government funding and to shut down the government.
“These 197 Democrats voted against keeping the government open, disaster relief, and aid for farmers.”
Musk likewise blamed House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for “rejecting a fair & simple spending bill that is desperately needed by states suffering from hurricane damage!”
Despite their efforts to spread the blame, no fewer than 38 Republicans also refused to back the bill, which sends a frustrated Speaker Johnson back to the drawing board once again with the clock ticking and a bipartisan deal still needed to avert Christmas chaos.
Trump’s nominee for press secretary says podcasters and influencers will be welcomed into White House briefing room
Karoline Leavitt pledged to reflect changes in the media environment when she takes to the lectern next year in conversation with her predecessor in the job Kayleigh McEnany.
Watch: Pundit suggests Trump has been ‘out-MAGA’ed’ by Musk
Last night naturally provided America’s political commentators with plenty of material and this from Dispatch editor-in-chief Jonah Goldberg is particularly astute.
Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky also enjoyed herself on CNN.
Vladimir Putin: I am ready to talk Ukraine with Trump
In between boasts about Russia’s military achievements in his annual marathon televised news conference, Putin said yesterday he is ready to compromise over Ukraine in possible talks on ending his war and has no conditions for starting discussions.
The Russian president also told one reporter he was ready to meet Donald Trump, who he said he had not spoken to for years, despite speculation to the contrary.
Alastair Jamieson reports.
Christmas ad for Trump’s $60 Bibles airs on conservative media
A Christmas-themed version of Donald Trump’s video advert promoting his “God Bless the USA” Bibles has been spotted airing on conservative media ahead of the holiday season.
The president-elect began selling the religious texts – co-endorsed by the country music star Lee Greenwood, whose patriotic anthem “God Save the USA” was a staple at Trump’s campaign rallies – back in March, retailing for $59.99.
“We must defend God in the public square and not allow the media or the left-wing groups to silence, censor, or discriminate against us,” Trump declares in the revived video, which was posted on X by social media personality Aaron Rupar after noticing it on Fox News.
The promo now comes with added baubles and a piano version of “O Come Let Us Adore him” playing in the background.
It was not immediately clear whether Trump’s team created or officially endorsed the ad.
Trump narrates Christmas ad for $60 Trump-themed bibles as legal bill looms
Donald Trump fronted a Christmas advertisement for a $59.99 (£47.98) “God Bless the USA Bible” before his return to the White House in January. “We must defend God in the public square and not allow the media or the left-wing groups to silence, censor, or discriminate against us,” the president-elect said in the vidieo. The bible’s title is inspired by Lee Greenwood’s ballad that Mr Trump plays at his rallies. It comes as Mr Trump faces a hefty legal bill while he fights four criminal indictments and a series of civil charges — on Monday, a New York appeals court agreed to pause collecting the more than $454m he owes after a civil fraud judgment if he pays $175m within 10 days.
Elon Musk lashes out as he gets first taste of political failure when spending deal voted down
Here’s more on the Big Tech boss’s humiliation on Capitol Hill last night, an experience he will not have been used to or enjoyed.
Farmers, business owners, homeowners face uncertainty after $100bn in disaster relief flounders
Here’s a look at the serious real-world consequences of last night’s ludicrous political theatre in DC, which is no joke to working Americans.
Watch: Fox pundit Jessica Tarlov slams Musk for opposing bipartisan cancer research funding
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Rand Paul back Musk for House speaker
Surely nothing this ridiculous could actually happen – or could it?
Here’s more from Josh Marcus.
Trump backs Johnson amid calls for his ouster over shutdown debacle
The president-elect (so far) isn’t joining calls from some in his party to replace Speaker Johnson at the start of the next Congress, although things are movingly quickly and last night will not have helped the Louisana Republican’s cause.
Johnson won the gavel last October after a protracted fight following the ouster of former speaker Kevin McCarthy – an event touched off by McCarthy’s decision to allow a vote to fund the government on a bipartisan basis rather than forcing a shutdown until passage of a party-line bill more acceptable to hardline conservatives.
Here’s more from Andrew Feinberg on Trump’s current support for Johnson, which may well not last.
Trump threatens primary challenge to Chip Roy for breaking ranks
The president-elect issued that threat against the deeply conservative Texas GOP congressman yesterday, calling him a “Republican obstructionist” seeking only “cheap publicity for himself”:
Unbowed, Roy responed on social media and then castigated his “asinine” party on the House floor for lacking “an ounce of self-respect” as he voted down the bill:
