AURN News with Ebony McMorris

Trump Rejects Bipartisan Spending Plan, Sparks Shutdown Fears

Ebony McMorris
December 19, 2024

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., center, joined from left by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., talks at a news conference after presenting his final version of an interim spending bill to his caucus, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. President-elect Donald Trump has now abruptly rejected the bipartisan plan to prevent a Christmastime government shutdown. Instead, he's telling House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans to essentially renegotiate — days before a deadline when federal funding runs out. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries slammed Republicans and warned of the harm that may be about to hit Americans. The reason? President-elect Donald Trump rejected a bipartisan plan to prevent a looming government shutdown.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, of N.Y., speaks at an event to commemorate the 200th anniversary of an address by the Marquis de Lafayette to Congress in Statuary Hall on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

“House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government and hurt everyday Americans all across this country. House Republicans will now own any harm that is visited upon the American people that results from a government shutdown or worse,” said Jeffries.

With federal funding set to run out just days before Christmas, Trump’s last-minute demands include tying routine government funding to a contentious debt ceiling hike, forcing Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans back to the drawing board.

President-elect Donald Trump is pictured at an election night watch party, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

As the deadline nears, the stalemate underscores the challenges facing Republican leadership and the growing influence of Trump’s inner circle.

Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.

White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris is a native Washingtonian and University of South Carolina alumna. Her passion is mentoring young adults by teaching community empowerment and media education. She is an NAB member and board member of the Thurgood Marshall Center and was presented the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for contributing more than 4,000 hours of community service under the Obama Administration.