FILE PHOTO: Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks to reporters ahead of a vote to pass the American Relief Act on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., December 19, 2024. The legislation failed to pass the House in a 174-235 vote. REUTERS/Anna Rose Layden/File Photo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives said on Friday they would vote to keep the federal government operating beyond a midnight deadline and avert a damaging shutdown that could disrupt the Christmas holiday.
"We will not have a government shutdown," House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters.
Details of the plan were still unknown, and it was not clear whether it would draw the support of Democrats, whose cooperation will be needed to extend funding past midnight Friday (0500 GMT Saturday), when it is due to expire.
A bipartisan plan rejected by President-elect Donald Trump earlier this week would have kept the government funded at roughly its $6.2 trillion current annual rate, provided an additional $100 billion in disaster aid for storm-hit states and another $10 billion for farmers.
Trump demanded a rewrite to also lift the nation's debt ceiling, and that bill was resoundingly rejected by the House -- including 38 Republicans -- on Thursday.
Johnson said the new package would provide aid for disaster victims and farmers and ensure that federal workers will continue to be paid. He did not provide specific figures.
The federal government currently has more than $36 trillion in debt, and Congress will need to act to authorize further borrowing by the middle of next year.
Two Republican lawmakers said the new bill would not address the debt ceiling. Multiple media outlets, citing sources, reported that Republican lawmakers in a closed-door meeting agreed to address the debt ceiling next year.
Several Republican leaders said the House would vote later on Friday. The Democratic-majority Senate also would have to approve the package and President Joe Biden would then have to sign it into law.
Representative Steve Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, said lawmakers had been in touch with Trump but did not say whether he supported the new plan.
If Congress does not pass a spending package, funding for everything from law enforcement to national parks will be disrupted and millions of federal workers will go unpaid.
TRAVEL WOES
Authorities warned that travelers during the busy Christmas season could face long lines at airports. Sources said the White House has alerted government agencies to prepare for an imminent shutdown. The federal government last shut down for 35 days during Trump's first White House term over a dispute about border security.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said earlier that he has been in touch with Johnson, but has not seen the latest Republican plan.
It would be the third attempt for Johnson, who saw his first package -- a bipartisan deal negotiated with Democrats who still control the Senate and the White House -- collapse on Wednesday after an online fusillade of criticism by Trump and Elon Musk, his billionaire adviser.
A second package, which paired government funding and disaster aid with Trump's demand to lift the national debt limit, failed to pass the House on Thursday as Democrats and 38 Republicans voted against it.
Democrats accused Johnson of caving to pressure from an unelected billionaire, while Republican opponents said they would not vote for a package that increased government spending and cleared the way for trillions of dollars in increased debt.
Trump, who takes office in one month, overnight ratcheted up his rhetoric, calling for a five-year suspension of the U.S. debt ceiling even after the House rejected a two-year extension.
"Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous Debt Ceiling. Without this, we should never make a deal," Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform overnight.
Previous fights over the debt ceiling have spooked financial markets, as a U.S. government default would send credit shocks around the world. The limit has been suspended under an agreement that technically expires on Jan. 1, though lawmakers likely would not have had to tackle the issue before the spring.
(Additional reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Scott Malone, Chizu Nomiyama and Alistair Bell)
