Year-End Spending Bill Drama Offers Glimpse of New D.C.

What happened: A bipartisan deal to keep the U.S. government operational through March 14 was upended by incoming President Donald Trump’s push for an increase in the federal debt limit and social media attacks by Trump advisor Elon Musk. Despite the president-elect’s threat to primary Republican House members who voted against a new measure tailored to meet his and Musk’s demands, 38 Republicans joined all but three Democrats in voting down the bill late last night.

Why it matters: With the House GOP slated to have an even slimmer three-vote majority once the new Congress is seated Jan. 3 (compared to the five-vote majority they enjoy now) the current situation foreshadows what is expected to be a very messy and complicated next two years in Congress.

What’s next: Government spending is scheduled to end at midnight, and it is unclear at the time of publishing how Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) will bridge the differences between his members and the incoming president. Even if Johnson is able to bring his caucus together to push something through the House, the package still needs 60 votes in the Democratically controlled Senate. Democrats have so far balked at the renegotiated proposals and instead called for consideration of the original bipartisan agreement.