House Republicans are eyeing an alternative government funding stopgap that excludes a debt ceiling increase, and are instead working on a commitment to raise the borrowing limit twice next year in a bid to appease President-elect Trump, two sources told The Hill.
The new continuing resolution — which is still being hashed out and could change — would be similar to the spending plan Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) rolled out earlier this week, minus a handful of policy provisions, including language that would provide lawmakers with a pay raise, the sources said.
Instead of including the debt ceiling increase in the stopgap — which would be difficult to approve amid Democratic opposition — House Republicans are working on a commitment to raise the borrowing limit twice next year through reconciliation, once at the beginning of the calendar and again later on.
“They want a commitment from the Republicans that we can move during reconciliation and support a debt ceiling increase so that President Trump can function and do what he needs to do,” one of the sources said.
The sources said they expect the stopgap to still run through March 14, the same as Johnson’s initial package. Both sources, however, cautioned that conversations are still ongoing.
Some of Trump’s government affairs staffers are in the meeting, the source said. James Braid, Trump’s incoming director of legislative affairs, has been going in and out of Johnson’s office.
Johnson’s office declined to comment.
Trump threw a curveball into the government funding talks Tuesday when he called for a debt limit increase as part of a stopgap in order to avoid it becoming a leverage point for Democrats after he takes office, calling it a “nasty TRAP.” But dealing with a debt limit increase in reconciliation, which bypasses the Senate filibuster and the requirement to get approval from Democrats, could get around that political hurdle.
News of the plan B came as an ideologically diverse group of House Republicans huddled in Johnson’s office amid the government funding negotiations, with the Friday-at-midnight shutdown deadline inching closer.
