Jeffries warns Speaker Johnson that he will need Democratic support to fund government

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Tuesday warned House Speaker Mike Johnson that he would need support from the opposing party in order to fund the federal government, after Congress unveiled a massive spending bill.

The stopgap measure, which faces a floor vote on Friday, includes a one-year extension on the annual “farm bill," and over $100 billion for disaster aid. If passed, it would keep the government funded through March 14.

Jeffries on Tuesday predicted that dozens of Johnson's own party members would oppose the massive 1,547-paged proposal, and said he should focus on uniting moderate Republicans and appealing to some House Democrats.

“One of the things that we know very clearly is that House Democrats will be needed to pass government funding,”  Jeffries said, per Politico. “That has been the case this Congress. It will continue to be the case, even in the next Congress. 

"But this is a lesson for Speaker Johnson," he continued. "Work with us, let’s find solutions, let’s tune out the most extreme voices in your conference, and let’s find that consensus that will be necessary to fund government.”

The comment comes after President-elect Donald Trump and his allies have promised to reduce federal spending when he returns to the White House next month. Trump has not commented on the proposal so far.

Conservative Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, one of Trump's allies, appeared to criticize the legislation in a post on X.

"The Christmas [Continuing Resolution] lump of coal comes with a warning. Beware the Ides of March," Greene wrote.

Johnson however has defended the major spending bill, and denied claims that it is a "Christmas tree" bill because it includes a large amount of unrelated legislation that both parties hope to pass in the final days of the current session of Congress.

"It's not a Christmas tree," the speaker said. "We’ve had to add things to that were out of our control. These were not man-made disasters. These are things that the federal government has an appropriate role to do. So I wish it weren’t necessary. I wish we hadn’t had record hurricanes in the fall.”

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.