Johnson says plan C reached to avert shutdown, vote expected

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Republicans have arrived at a plan C to avert a shutdown and the House will vote Friday morning on the legislation. 

"Yeah, yeah, we have a plan," Johnson said Friday morning as he entered the Capitol. "We're expecting votes this morning, so you all stay tuned. We've got a plan."

He did not say what it entails. 

Lawmakers have little time to avoid a shutdown: Government funding runs out when the clock strikes midnight late Friday.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) said on CNBC on shortly after Johnson’s comments Friday morning that he thinks Washington will probably avoid a shutdown since “we’re pushed up against Christmas here,” alluding to the likely path forward without directly confirming it, saying that will be up to the Speaker’s office to announce it.

“There’s a chance today a clean CR [continuing resolution], short term clean CR, it may be for two, three weeks,” Mullin said. “That was something that was discussed, you know, late last night, you know, even some discussions this morning. I’m not going to say that’s going to happen, but you know, that’s really the option that’s on the table.”

If Johnson does move forward with a clean, short-term stopgap, it is unclear if that will muster enough votes to clear the House. A handful of Republicans have historically opposed continuing resolutions, and Democrats have evaluated the Speaker’s proposals on a case-by-case basis, two factors that are fueling the chances of a shutdown so close to the deadline.

It's also unclear if Johnson’s plan will appease President-Trump and his demand to raise the debt ceiling as part of the CR.

Friday’s vote will be the latest effort by the House to fund the government ahead of the partial shutdown deadline. And it will come hours after the House on Thursday voted down Johnson’s plan B bill that combined a three-month government funding extension with $110 billion in disaster and farm aid, some other policy measures, and a two-year suspension of the debt limit — the latter of which was a last-minute demand by Trump.

The failed vote marked a blow for Johnson and Trump, who endorsed the package, urged lawmakers to support it and threatened primary challengers for anyone who opposed it.

Aside from the debt limit increase, the plan B proposal was a stripped-down version of an initial funding deal that Johnson negotiated with Democrats and revealed earlier in the week. That initial bill included measures like a health care deal and an increase in pay for members of Congress that ballooned the bill to over 1,500 pages, prompting outrage from Republicans, Trump, and Elon Musk helped kill the package.

Members on Thursday night were unsure how they would solve the funding impasse after the plan B failed. They will have to not only get a bill that can appease Trump and pass in the narrow House GOP majority, but get approval from the Democratic-controlled Senate and White House.

Johnson's comments Friday morning came moments before he was scheduled to huddle in his office with members of the far-right Freedom Caucus and at least two figures in the incoming Trump administration: JD Vance, the vice president-elect, and Russell Vought, who served as head of the White House budget office in Trump's first term. 

A long list of conservative House Freedom Caucus members trickled into the room after Johnson's arrival, including Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and Andy Harris (R-Md.), the chairman of the group. None of them commented. 

"It's gonna be beautiful," said GOP Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.). 

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) also arrived at Johnson’s office early Friday morning.

Trump’s last-minute demand to address the debt limit has drastically complicated the government funding process. It emerged as one of the main sticking points in negotiations, which is drawing opposition from Democrats and Republicans.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) wrote on social media Thursday that increasing the borrowing limit at this juncture was a “hard pass,” in-part prompting most of the caucus to oppose the proposal that hit the floor that day.

On the other side of the aisle, conservative Republicans have criticized raising the debt ceiling without cutting spending.

“New bill: $110BB in deficit spending (unpaid for), $4 TRILLION+ debt ceiling increase with $0 in structural reforms for cuts. Time to read the bill: 1.5 hours. I will vote no,” Roy wrote on X.

Congress is not expected to have to deal with increasing the debt until summer 2025.

Updated at 8:05 a.m. EST