GOP Reps Claim That Johnson Has Struck Funding Deal

The Washington Post reports:

Oklahoma Republican Reps. Stephanie Bice and Tom Cole, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, just told reporters that Republicans have struck a funding deal.

“There is a deal, and the details are forthcoming,” Bice told reporters as she left House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-Louisiana) office. She said the vote is expected later Thursday.

Neither Republican offered further details on the deal, but it comes about 24 hours after Republicans, egged on by President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk, rejected a bipartisan three-month stopgap funding extension. The government will shut down this weekend if a bill is not passed.

Politico reports:

The plan Johnson is expected to put on the House floor later Thursday includes, according to three Republicans familiar with the deal, a stopgap measure that funds the government through mid-March, a clean farm bill extension, the $110 billion disaster aid package previously negotiated with Democrats, clean health care provision extenders and a two-year suspension of the debt limit, kicking a new deadline into January 2027.

Given House Democrats did not appear to be read in on the deal, it’s unclear if they will support it, and Johnson will almost certainly need their votes to pass it through the chamber. Shortly after the agreement was announced, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) already said he was opposed to the plan — an attitude other conservatives are certain to share.

And the band played on.