Trump: Republicans who back spending bill without debt increase should face primary

President-elect Trump on Wednesday said any Republican lawmaker who backs a continuing resolution without including an increase to the debt limit should face a primary challenge, placing the issue of the debt ceiling squarely at the center of efforts to keep the government open.

Trump, who earlier in the day urged Republicans to approve a clean stopgap funding bill paired with a hike to the debt ceiling, balked at the idea of the GOP backing a "clean" continuing resolution that merely funds the government.

"If Republicans try to pass a clean Continuing Resolution without all of the Democrat 'bells and whistles' that will be so destructive to our Country, all it will do, after January 20th, is bring the mess of the Debt Limit into the Trump Administration, rather than allowing it to take place in the Biden Administration," Trump posted on Truth Social.

"Any Republican that would be so stupid as to do this should, and will, be Primaried. Everything should be done, and fully negotiated, prior to my taking Office on January 20th, 2025," Trump continued.

President Biden and then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) reached a deal in late May of 2023 to lift the debt ceiling for two years and apply new caps on federal spending over the same duration.

That would put the issue on Trump's plate next June at a time when he and Republicans are hoping to extend tax cuts that were first passed in 2017.

The government is set to shut down on Saturday unless lawmakers can pass a funding measure through the House and Senate by then.

Trump and his allies have pushed to torpedo support for a roughly 1,500-page bill, which was unveiled Tuesday evening and was a compromise between congressional leaders to extend government funding into March and provide money for various other priorities.

GOP opposition was centered on a number of add-ons to the continuation of government funding through March 14.

The add-ons included disaster assistance for hurricane damage and an extension of existing farm legislation, in addition to a health care deal that includes reforms to the pharmacy benefit manager industry and a provision that could set the stage for the Washington Commanders to return to playing their home games in D.C. instead of Maryland.

While Trump has expressed opposition to the inclusion of lawmaker pay raises and other provisions, he has become increasingly focused on the issue of the debt ceiling, seeking to avoid any kind of standoff on the topic when he is in office next year.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had been weighing a backup option that would amount to a “clean” continuing resolution, dropping additional provisions that had been included in the deal negotiated by congressional leaders.

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