Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said the GOP should stand strong in their negotiations with Democrats over a government funding deal because the American people want sweeping change in Washington.
“I think that everybody misjudged what President Trump won when they bring in a 1500-page bill that is a joke,” said Gingrich on the “The Faulkner Focus” Friday.
“That was not a continuing resolution,” said Gingrich of Congress’ legislation, which was revealed on Wednesday and was intended to avoid a partial shutdown of the government.
“This was actually a brand-new omnibus spending bill, and it was a total violation of politics as usual,” continued Gingrich. “‘ Don’t worry what the candidate says before the election. He’s going to sell you out afterward.’ Well, Trump didn’t sell them out. And now we are facing the first great reality of making America great again.”
Congressional leaders unveiled a spending bill Wednesday to postpone the deadline for government funding. The bill included 1,500 pages of funding and policy riders.
The continuing resolution (CR) was vehemently opposed by the president-elect and DOGE members Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk, who pushed for a streamlined version of the bill.
However, the second spending bill backed by Trump also failed to pass the House of Representatives on Thursday, after 38 Republicans and all but two Democrats voted to kill it.
The deadline to avoid a government shutdown is late on Friday.
It follows two days of chaos in Congress as legislators fought amongst themselves about a path forward on government spending. The national debt has skyrocketed to more than $36 trillion, with the national deficit at over $1.8 trillion.
According to Gingrich, Congress is “filled with people who love pork and deficit spending” and is now “colliding with the man the American people picked to change things.”
Gingrich advised it would be better if the government shut down
The former speaker advised it would be better if the government did shut down so Trump could show Americans he isn’t going to “sell them out” by putting a spending bill forward that would bloat the federal government further.
“So, I would urge Republicans to stand firm for very large-scale change, fight it out, and rest comfortable while the Washington news media and the Washington lobbyists and the Washington bureaucrats are all going to go crazy. The rest of the country is going to applaud, finally having a majority that actually intends to change it,” Gingrich added.
On Friday, sources said House GOP negotiators have reached a tentative agreement to avoid a partial government shutdown.
Two individuals familiar with discussions said the deal would include a short-term extension of this fiscal year’s federal funding levels, agricultural support for farmers, and disaster aid funding — but under three separate bills.
Additionally, it would involve an agreement to act on the debt limit next year through a process called reconciliation as part of the GOP’s planned massive conservative policy overhaul.
