Oh, here we go again. Washington is playing its favorite game: kick the fiscal can down the road, but this time, President-elect Donald Trump isn’t having it. On Wednesday, Trump shredded Speaker Mike Johnson’s spending deal, calling it a gift-wrapped present for Democrats and a raw deal for everyone else. Trump’s rallying cry? Republicans need to stop folding like cheap lawn chairs and start standing up for their voters. And frankly, he’s not wrong.
Let’s talk about this bill. Johnson’s stopgap measure aimed to keep the government funded until March 2025, with over $100 billion in disaster aid, goodies for farmers, healthcare tweaks, a pay raise for Congress, and even a rebuild of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland. It sounds like a legislative grabbag that’s trying to please everyone but ends up angering just about everyone instead.
Trump didn’t mince words, blasting the bill as a total capitulation. His biggest gripe? The provisions shield the January 6 committee’s records and give Congress a pay raise while Americans are struggling to make ends meet. Let’s be real—giving Congress a raise right now feels about as tone-deaf as it gets. People are tightening their belts this Christmas, and yet Congress thinks it deserves a little extra padding in its wallet? Give us a break.
🚨BREAKING: OFFICIAL statement from President Trump and JD Vance on the disgraceful Continuing Resolution bill: pic.twitter.com/mG1qxGBwoE
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) December 18, 2024
Then there’s the debt ceiling, looming like a fiscal guillotine. Trump made a solid point: why would Republicans punt this fight to 2025 when it will become his problem to solve? Negotiating the debt ceiling now, while Democrats are still in charge, puts the pressure squarely on Biden and Schumer. Kicking the can means trusting Democrats to play nice later—a gamble with odds worse than winning the Powerball. Trump’s message? Handle it now, and don’t leave a fiscal time bomb for his administration.
And don’t overlook the bill’s sneaky giveaways to Democratic priorities. Trump and Elon Musk both highlighted its more questionable provisions, like those related to government censorship and funding tied to Liz Cheney, a GOP pariah in MAGA circles. How exactly does funding government censors or Cheney-related projects set the country up for success in 2025? Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.
Trump’s advice to Republicans is classic hardball—call the Democrats’ bluff. If Schumer and Biden want to shut down the government over their laundry list of demands, let them take the blame. The Left loves to cry foul about government shutdowns, but let’s not forget who holds the veto pen. Republicans can stand firm and make it clear that it’s the Democrats holding up aid for farmers and disaster relief, not the other way around.
At the heart of this mess is a leadership vacuum, and Trump didn’t hold back on pointing fingers. President Biden, he argued, is too weak to steer the ship, leaving Congress to flounder in dysfunction. And honestly, he’s got a point. If Biden’s goal was to create a sense of unity and direction in Washington, his administration has failed spectacularly. Instead, we get chaos wrapped in red tape with no real solutions in sight.
Congress just got caught trying to put over $100 billion on our credit card. On what, you ask? A law to put politicians above the law, fund censorship programs, fund more vaccine mandates and gain-of-function-type research, hand out $3 million to inspect molasses inspectors, $15… pic.twitter.com/0jgfHXhp57
— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) December 19, 2024
For Republicans, the path forward is clear: scrap the bloated, Democrat-friendly bill and push for a clean, temporary funding measure that actually reflects conservative values. Anything less isn’t just bad politics—it’s a betrayal of the voters who sent them to Washington in the first place.
