President-elect Donald Trump is set to inherit a “big mess” as his presidency begins, following the passage of a spending bill aimed at preventing a government shutdown. The spending bill, passed by the Senate on Saturday, ensures the government will remain funded through March 14, 2025, according to NBC News. Its Senate approval followed the House’s passage of the legislation on Friday night.
NBC noted that in addition to the incoming Trump administration needing to address “another government funding deadline and a debt limit,” Trump’s cabinet picks need to be confirmed “through the Senate,” among other things. Breitbart News’s Bradley Jaye reported that Friday, the House had extended “spending levels and policy priorities negotiated” earlier this year with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and President Joe Biden.
None of the Democrats opposed the spending bill, with 196 voting in favor and one voting present, while 14 Democratic lawmakers were absent. Among Republicans, 170 supported the bill, 34 voted against it, and 15 were absent. The bill’s passage followed intervention by President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, who “stepped in at the last minute” after an earlier continuing resolution (CR), criticized for being filled with “pork,” had gained support from Johnson, Breitbart News reported.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said that he felt it was a “mistake” to have punted government funding to March 2025, adding that it was “kind of stupid,” according to NBC News. “I think it’s kind of stupid,” Johnson said. “Don’t ask me to explain or defend this dysfunction.” Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) emphasized the importance of House Republicans “overcommunicating” with Sen. John Thune (R-SD) during Trump’s administration, as Thune prepares to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as Senate Majority Leader. “The House needs to overcommunicate within our various factions,” Barr explained. “The House needs to overcommunicate with [incoming Senate] Majority Leader [John] Thune, and House and the Senate both need to overcommunicate with the administration.”
While Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) expressed hope, stating that Republicans now “know how to work together,” Sen. Johnson stated that Republicans had “a big mess on” their hands. “We got a big mess on our hands, no doubt about it,” Sen. Johnson said. “That’s why I’m trying to underpromise and hopefully overdeliver.”
Late last week, Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) urged Trump to visit the nation’s capital to unify the GOP regarding the controversial funding bill. “There’s one person that can control the Republican caucus in the United States House of Representatives right now, and that’s Donald J. Trump,” he said on Fox News on Thursday.
Kennedy described the bill as causing a metaphorical “multi-vehicle pileup” on Capitol Hill, one that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has struggled to manage on his own. He emphasized that this was not Johnson’s fault, attributing the chaos to the Republican Party being full of “free-range chickens.” Kennedy added that Trump’s involvement was essential to restore order and move things forward. “Let’s face it, he’s the president now. It’s not President Biden,” he said. “President Trump needs to sit down with Mike Johnson and [Sen.] John Thune [R-S.D.] and come up with a new skinny CR.”
“If the president wants to do something on the debt limit, we need to find out what it is and put it in the bill. Then the president’s going to have to help Mike sell it in the House… Speaker Johnson’s problem is that, on the Republican side, he’s got a bunch of free-range chickens. I’m not criticizing them, but they wander off and Mike can’t catch all of them by himself,” he said.
Disclaimer: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.