Trump backs newest Republican spending deal that would prevent a government shutdown if passed: Live
The proposed continuing resolution, championed by GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson, would have kept agencies running at current funding levels through to mid-March 2025
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump celebrated a deal he claims was reached in Congress that will keep the government open and push the debt ceiling deadline back two years in a Truth Social post on Thursday. Despite his praise for the alleged deal, some reports have suggested Democrats have not agreed to anything and have been left in the dark on the agreement.
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s previous bipartisan deal would have kept agencies running at current funding levels through to mid-March 2025 but the president-elect and his deputy issued a statement complaining the bill does not address the nation’s statutory debt ceiling. The new deal Trump referenced reportedly includes a delay on the debt ceiling deadline.
Democrats have meanwhile mocked tech billionaire Elon Musk’s undue influence over the incoming administration, with Senator Bernie Sanders ironically praising “President Elon Musk” on X.
While Trump told Fox News Digital Johnson will “easily remain speaker” he added a caveat reiterating his earlier statement. Among the names floated as potential replacements for Johnson is Musk, with Senator Rand Paul noting the role is not limited to members of Congress.
Meanwhile, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been removed from Trump’s sprawling election interference case by Georgia’s Court of Appeals which ruled her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade was a conflict of interest.
U.S. applications for unemployment benefits come back down after last week’s big rise
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell markedly last week following a big increase the week before.
Jobless claim applications declined by 22,000 to 220,000 for the week of Dec. 14, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than the 229,000 analysts were forecasting.
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