Partial win for Trump as Congress nixes pork spending but ignores debt ceiling

The House tried to pass a continuing resolution packed with pork spending in its usual fashion, but the intervention of President-elect Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Vivek Ramaswamy torpedoed the bill and the lower chamber approved a revised version less than 10% of the original’s length.

Its passage presented only a partial win for Trump as it excluded a provision he sought to suspend the debt limit, which would have permitted him to avoid a contentious fight in the legislature during his term.

The lower chamber initially planned to vote on a 1,547-page bill that included a litany of what Trump called “Democratic giveaways” such as a pay raise for lawmakers. Public outrage, however, led lawmakers to scrap the bill in favor of a shorter, 116-page version that also included a provision to raise the debt ceiling. That measure failed in a Thursday vote, with considerable Republican defections.

The Friday vote saw the House approve a 118-page version of the bill, without the debt limit increase that Trump demanded. It needed two-thirds support to clear the lower chamber and the final tally was 366 in favor and 34 opposed. Democrats crossed the aisle to put the bill over the two-thirds threshold and overcame Republican opposition.

The GOP was initially set to go with a string of bills addressing individual issues, but ultimately went with the revised single legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Friday urged the House to approve the original 1,547-page legislation, calling it the “quickest, simplest, and easiest way we can make sure the government stays open.” The upper chamber ultimately voted early Saturday morning to approve the bill by an 85-11 margin.

Spotlight on the Swamp

The original 1,547 page long bill was a continuing resolution to keep the government open until March, though it also included disaster relief, farm assistance, lab funding, a pay raise for lawmakers, and other items that President-elect Donald Trump deemed “Democrat giveaways.”

Prompting its abandonment was widespread outrage online, particularly on X, driven in part by Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) co-leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy highlighting the bill’s obscure provisions.

Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance subsequently issued a statement, urging Congress to abandon the bill in favor of a slimmed-down version. Trump’s demand that Congress also suspend the debt ceiling threw a wrench into their plans and alienated Republican budget hawks, however.

Nonetheless, the social media influence succeeded in generating considerable public attention toward an ordinarily procedural matter and force long-serving lawmakers to, albeit begrudgingly, explore a new way of handling the process.

Momentum for a leadership change

The episode has seen House Speaker Mike Johnson face considerable scrutiny from conservative and moderate lawmakers alike over his stewardship of negotiations and the appropriations process more generally.

With Johnson taking the speaker’s gavel after several other Republicans failed to replace the ousted Kevin McCarthy, his tenure has been far from stable. Conservative lawmakers, particularly budget hawks, have routinely expressed frustration with other budget agreements he made. But now, more moderate lawmakers, such as Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., seemingly signaling openness to removing him before the new Congress convenes.

Trump himself has also cast doubt on Johnson’s future, while Musk has amplified voices suggesting his leadership presents an obstacle to genuine reform. Musk, however, did concede that “The Speaker did a good job here, given the circumstances. It went from a bill that weighed pounds to a bill that weighed ounces.”

A win for DOGE?

For Trump, the vote is only a partial victory as he failed to get the debt limit increase. But Musk and Ramaswamy’s efforts to highlight the initial bill’s inclusion of dubious provisions seem to have resulted in an early win for the not-yet-official DOGE. Though many lawmakers have reportedly expressed frustrations with the pair, especially Musk, they succeeded in shutting out many add-ons to the bill and have potentially jeopardized the “Christmas Tree” legislative practice of including pet projects in the last-minute bill.

"The lobbyists didn’t get their 1,500 pages of pork," posted former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on X.