House Republicans struggling to cobble together a spending measure after two earlier attempts this week failed are looking at three separate proposals to avert a government shutdown - but none of them contains President-elect Donald Trump's demand for a debt ceiling extension, according to reports.
As recently as Friday morning, Trump was calling for Congress to either get rid of the "ridiculous" debt ceiling or extend it to 2029, saying, "Without this, we should never make a deal."
House Speaker Mike Johnson, whose job may be on the line because of the deadlock, is working on a Plan C that would break up the package into three separate proposals - government funding until March 14, disaster aid and a farm bill extension, NBC News reported.
The debt limit extension would not get a vote, the report said.
The Hill reported Republicans are instead working on a deal to cut trillions in spending in exchange for boosting the borrowing limit next year.
"It's just an agreement, an understanding, an acknowledgment that we will do this someway or somehow that helps Trump," a source told the Hill.
Congress is racing to approve a spending plan before the 12:01 a.m. Saturday deadline when the government will shut down.
