Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) suggested that President-elect Trump would be “better” shutting down the government.
“I think President Trump would be much better off shutting down the government, letting Biden sit there as a totally incompetent president presiding over chaos, and going to the country and saying to the country, 'I'm not going to do that.'” You He is the kind of president who sells everything. We need your help convincing Congress to pass good legislation,” Gingrich told Fox News' Harris Faulkner on Friday.
“I think the country will respond,” Gingrich added.
The press conference comes as the House scrambles to find a route around the shutdown by a Friday night deadline.
Earlier this week, a bipartisan 1,500-page continuing resolution to continue funding the government through the new year drew criticism from Trump's allies, including Elon Musk, and ultimately from Trump himself. It was exposed and caught fire.
The backlash led to House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-Louisiana) Plan B agreement being rejected by the House on Thursday, raising the possibility of a government shutdown.
President Trump also issued a joint statement Wednesday with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance calling for a combination of raising the debt ceiling and stopgap legislation, and Republicans calling for a combination of a raise in the debt ceiling and stopgap legislation. However, he said this is an issue that will be addressed in the interim funding proposal. He also wants Congress to pass a “streamlined spending bill” that doesn't give Democrats “everything they want” and includes “raising the debt ceiling.”
President Trump subsequently supported Johnson's Plan B agreement, but all but 38 House Republicans and two Democrats voted against it.
Gingrich's comments on FOX News Follow Thursday morning posts On social platform X, he advised Trump and his Republican colleagues that they “don't need to fear” a shutdown.
“President Trump and the Republican Party should not fear a government shutdown. The next election is in two years,” Gingrich said in the post.
