Trump, Musk and conservative rejection of Johnson's bipartisan deal: What you need to know about the government shutdown

Mike Johnson will have a hectic week to avoid a government shutdown. The House speaker agreed to a bipartisan Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government through March 14. However, negative reactions from conservatives, with many of them announcing they will vote against it, are making him rethink the legislation's content. Even Donald Trump and Elon Musk are unhappy with the bipartisan initiative.

On Tuesday night, and with a Dec. 20 deadline to avoid a shutdown, Johnson unveiled the 1,500-page bipartisan agreement to fund the government in the short term. However, many legislators spoke out against it and said they would not vote for it. Hours later, the president himself, a regular Johnson ally, made his displeasure public.

Among other things, the CR contains more than $100 billion in funds for natural disaster relief, $30 billion in funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers and a one-year extension of the Farm Bill of 2018.

The CR is an interim funding bill often used to buy a little more time to prepare a final funding proposal.

"It was intended to be, and has been until a few days ago, a very simple, clean interim funding measure to get us to next year when we have a unified government. We had these huge hurricanes in the late fall, 'Helene' and 'Milton', and other disasters. We need to make sure that Americans who were devastated by these hurricanes get the help they need," Johnson said about the legislation.

Trump, Musk and House conservatives: Negative reactions to bipartisan bill

After Fox News advanced that the president-elect is "totally against" the bill, Trump weighed in on his Truth Social account, also on behalf of JD Vance.

"The most foolish and inept thing ever done by Congressional Republicans was allowing our country to hit the debt ceiling in 2025. It was a mistake and is now something that must be addressed. Meanwhile, Congress is considering a spending bill that would give sweetheart provisions for government censors and for Liz Cheney. The bill would make it easier to hide the records of the corrupt January 6 committee—which accomplished nothing for the American people and hid security failures that happened that day. This bill would also give Congress a pay increase while many Americans are struggling this Christmas," the release reads.

"Republicans want to support our farmers, pay for disaster relief, and set our country up for success in 2025. The only way to do that is with a temporary funding bill WITHOUT DEMOCRAT GIVEAWAYS combined with an increase in the debt ceiling. Anything else is a betrayal of our country," he added.

Elon Musk also expressed his frustration on social media over the bill's content. The owner of X made multiple posts in protest, objecting to different spending items.

"Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years! Please call your elected representatives right away to tell them how you feel!” he added in a separate post. “They are trying to get this passed today while no one is paying attention," Musk noted on X.

Notable among the Republican congressmen who have already announced they will vote against it are Wesley Hunt (R-TX), Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Barry Moore (R-AL), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Michael Cloud (R-TX), Jim Banks (R-IN), Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ)and Randy Weber (R-TX), among others.

"I support disaster aid for hurricane victims and relief for our farmers. But I can not in good conscience vote for a bloated, 1,500-page bill released at the last minute that keeps us on the path of reckless spending. I am voting NO on the CR," Van Drew wrote on his X account.

"After further discussion with my constituents, I am officially voting NO on the Cramnibus bill. I cannot in good conscience vote for: billions to Ukraine, mask and vaccine mandates, Deep State immunity. I will still fight for a standalone disaster relief bill," Luna posted.

What will happen with the government shutdown?

Following the criticism, Politico reported that Johnson is considering a plan B to pass "clean" legislation that would reduce spending.

Indeed, as December 20 draws closer, the House speaker is considering eliminating the $100 billion for disasters, the $30 billion for farmers and the Farm Bill extension.

What is a government shutdown?

The United States decides how to spend public money year after year when Congress passes the Appropriations Bill. The deadline lawmakers have to agree is October 1. If no text is passed by then, the federal government shuts down.

The logic comes from the National Constitution, specifically Article 1, Section 9: "No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law, and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time."

Once closure is reached, certain agencies directly cease to function. They may be all, some or one in particular. Their employees can't work, and their pay is withheld until Capitol Hill comes to an agreement.