Where The Spending Fight In Congress Stands After ‘Cramnibus’ Implodes

With the collapse on Wednesday of a bloated stopgap bill to avert a government shutdown by the end of the week, there has been a push among Republican members of Congress to pass a “clean” continuing resolution (CR) without all the add-ons that doomed the initial measure. But the final product may yet have some, albeit fewer additions than what critics derided as the “cramnibus.”

After President-elect Donald Trump came out against the bloated CR negotiated by leaders in the GOP-led House and Democrat-controlled Senate, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) declared: “Well, that’s that. Time to pass a real CLEAN CR. Next time we can save a few trees and leave the 1547 page monstrosities in the drafts folder.”

By advocating for a “clean” CR, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are pushing for a bill that would temporarily fund the federal government without being filled with the pork often packed into massive spending bills. As Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) pointed out, the last CR in September was just 21 pages.

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The CR introduced by congressional leaders on Tuesday night sought to provide funds to the federal government through March 14, 2025, allocate more than $100 billion in disaster aid, boost farmers, implement some healthcare reforms, finance the rebuilding of Maryland’s devastated Francis Scott Key Bridge, create a pay raise for Congress, and much more.

Elon Musk, who has been tasked with helping to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and Trump condemned the legislation. Emboldened by their opposition, many Republicans said they would not vote for the CR, signaling that it would not be able to pass without bipartisan support in the House. Amid the firestorm, the House leaders began work on a Plan B.

In a joint statement with Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), the vice president-elect, Trump said Congress should pass a temporary funding bill only if it includes a debt ceiling increase and no “DEMOCRAT GIVEAWAYS.” On Wednesday night, after leaving House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) office, Vance told reporters they had a “productive conversation” and noted that Trump supports “a clean CR so long as it contains a debt limit increase.”

Congress last passed legislation to address the debt ceiling in the late spring of 2023. That measure, negotiated under then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), suspended the debt limit until January 2025, staving off a U.S. debt default, and sought to implement various restraints on spending that would be able to reduce budget deficits by an estimated $1.5 trillion over the next decade.

On Thursday, POLITICO cited GOP sources who said that Johnson and Trump’s team were discussing a new plan to avert a shutdown, including a CR, disaster aid, pushing off the debt limit fight for two years, and a one-year farm bill extension. Democrat leaders have reportedly indicated they prefer the original plan.