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Democrats dig in while GOP negotiates with themselves as shutdown looms

(WASHINGTON) -- Speaker Mike Johnson said Thursday night that Republicans will "regroup" and "come up with another solution" after the government funding bill they negotiated with President-elect Donald Trump that would avert a government shutdown failed to pass.

The bill failed by a 174-235-1 vote with 38 Republicans voting against it.

Johnson blamed Democrats for the bill's failure.

“The only difference on this legislation was that we would push the debt ceiling to January of 2027,” Johnson claimed. “I want you all to remember that it was just last spring that the same Democrats berated Republicans and said that it was irresponsible to hold the debt limit, the debt ceiling, hostage. What changed?”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries celebrated the bill's defeat, saying in a statement that Republicans were “not serious” about helping working class Americans.

President-elect Donald Trump earlier Thursday endorsed the deal that House Republican reached to continue to fund the government through March and avoid a government shutdown at the end of the week.

"All Republicans, and even the Democrats, should do what is best for our Country, and vote “YES” for this Bill, TONIGHT!" Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

Trump said the "newly agreed to American Relief Act of 2024 will keep the Government open, fund our Great Farmers and others, and provide relief for those severely impacted by the devastating hurricanes."

He also said that the bill would push raising the debt ceiling to January 2027 from June of next year. Congress last raised the country's borrowing limit in June 2023 and had suspended it until June 2025.

"A VERY important piece, VITAL to the America First Agenda, was added as well - The date of the very unnecessary Debt Ceiling will be pushed out two years, to January 30, 2027. Now we can Make America Great Again, very quickly, which is what the People gave us a mandate to accomplish," Trump wrote.

GOP House leaders and Vice-President-elect JD Vance were hoping to appease both Trump's demands that any legislation to fund the government also deals with raising or eliminating the country's debt ceiling, as well as House Republicans on the right who are traditionally against any spending deal or debt limit increase.

Meanwhile, Democrats refused to budge from the deal they originally worked out with Republicans that Trump and Elon Musk demolished on Wednesday.

Jeffries called the latest proposal "laughable" as Democrats gathered to strategize their next move.

“The Musk-Johnson proposal is not serious. It’s laughable. Extreme MAGA Republicans are driving us to a government shutdown," he said.

Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin said it was unclear who Democrats were negotiating with -- Trump or Musk.

Asked about Republicans who say they have now done their part and that Democrats would own any shutdown, Raskin replied, "It's an intolerable way of proceeding... Democrats are going to try to figure out how to salvage the public good out of the wreckage just foist upon us."

That bipartisan deal called for extending government spending at current levels until March and added other provisions like relief for disaster victims and farmers and a pay raise for members of Congress.

Things changed Wednesday after Musk began a pressure campaign on X with multiple posts opposing the deal. Later that day Trump and Vance posted a statement calling on Congress to "pass a streamlined spending bill," with the president-elect echoing Musk's threats of primarying any GOP member who didn't comply.

Trump told ABC News' Jonathan Karl Thursday morning that there will be a government shutdown unless Congress eliminates the debt ceiling or extends the limit on government borrowing before he takes office.

"We're not going to fall into the debt ceiling quicksand," he said. "There won't be anything approved unless the debt ceiling is done with."

Under current law, the federal government would hit its borrowing limit sometime in the spring of 2025, during the first months of the second Trump presidency. Trump, however, said he wants it taken care of now, while Joe Biden is president.

"Shutdowns only inure to the person who's president," Trump said.

Some Senate Republicans, including John Kennedy and Mike Rounds, expressed displeasure with Johnson's bill and praised Trump for stepping in.

But Sen. Thom Tillis, whose home state was devastated by Hurricane Helene, said he'd do everything in his power to slow down the passage of any government funding bill that doesn't include disaster relief.

Congress faces a deadline of Friday night, when the current government funding extension expires, to pass a new one or non-essential agencies would shut down.

House Republicans of every stripe were seen rotating in and out of the speaker's office on Thursday -- including House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, Texas Rep. Chip Roy and Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris of Maryland.

Jeffries told reporters that raising the debt limit as part of the government funding bill is "premature at best."

"We are going to continue to maintain an open line of communication to see if we can resolve this issue on terms that are favorable to the everyday Americans," Jeffries said when asked if he was speaking to Johnson.

Behind closed doors during a caucus huddle Thursday morning, Jeffries delivered the same message to Democrats: Republicans backed out of a bipartisan deal and now have to figure out a way to get out.

"This kind of chaos and dysfunction has real-world impacts on hard-working people," Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., said.

Rep. Bill Keating, D-Mass., told ABC News that Jeffries quoted President John F. Kennedy to the caucus: "Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate."

"He said, look, we kept all our doors open during this negotiation. We made concessions. Most of us weren't happy with the outcome of this, but you have to do your basic job. He's saying that will continue. We're open to everything, but we're not open to the kind of bullying tactics that Elon Musk is doing," Keating said.

Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., quipped, "We had a deal. We negotiated a deal, and then Musk decided to change the deal. Do I call him 'President Musk?'"

Texas Rep. Greg Casar, the new chair of the progressive caucus was also critical of Musk.

"If Elon Musk is kind of cosplaying co-president here, I don't know why Trump doesn't just hand him the Oval Office, or Speaker Johnson should maybe just hand Elon Musk the gavel if they just want that billionaire to run the country," Casar said.

While many Democrats support eliminating the debt limit in principle, members left their closed-door meeting opposed to striking it now as part of a spending deal, stressing it should be a separate matter.

ABC News' Emily Chang, Ivan Pereira and Jay O'Brien contributed to this report.

Raw oysters linked to norovirus outbreak leaves at least 80 sickened in Los Angeles

(LOS ANGELES) -- An event celebrating the top restaurants in Los Angeles left at least 80 people sickened with norovirus due to an outbreak linked to raw oysters, LA County's Department of Public Health confirmed to ABC News.

The outbreak stemmed from an event at the Hollywood Palladium celebrating the Los Angeles Times' list of the 101 best restaurants on Dec. 3, according to the agency.

Norovirus is a very contagious virus that causes vomiting and diarrhea and is commonly referred to as the "stomach flu" or the "stomach bug," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It is the leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States. Other symptoms may include stomach pain, fever, headache, body aches, or dehydration. Proper handwashing, disinfecting contaminated surfaces, washing laundry in hot water, and staying home when sick are ways to prevent further spread, according to the CDC.

"At this time, over 80 attendees that consumed the oysters have reported illness," a spokesperson with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said in a statement.

The oysters that were served and have since been recalled were Fanny Bay Select oysters and Fanny Bay XS oysters from Pacific Northwest Shellfish Co., according to the statement.

The pack date of the oysters was listed as Nov. 25 or later and the date of the recall notice was Dec. 13, the agency added.

Following the recall, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning on Dec. 18 to restaurants, retailers and consumers not to sell or eat the oysters in question due to potential norovirus contamination.

The warning was directed at 15 states across the country from Hawaii, California and Arizona to Illinois, Pennsylvania and New York. The FDA said the outbreak is believed to have originated in British Columbia, Canada.

Santa Monica Seafood, which supplied the oysters for the event, said in a statement to ABC News the company is "aware of the ongoing investigation into the recent food illness outbreak linked to oysters served" and is cooperating with the Public Health Department.

The retailer added that while the investigation is ongoing, "There is no evidence to suggest mishandling at any point in the supply chain, including by Santa Monica Seafood or any of the restaurants participating in the LA Times event."

Tickets to the Los Angeles Times' restaurant event associated with the outbreak cost eventgoers anywhere from $264 for general admission to upwards of $600 for VIP.

ABC News has reached out to the L.A. Times for a comment.

East Texas man sentenced after meth found in hotel room

HENDERSON COUNTY, Texas – Nichalos Allen Hunt was sentenced to 10 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for possession of a controlled substance and four years for bail jumping and failure to appear in court. Our news partners at KETK report that Hunt allegedly admitted the baggie and a glass pipe were his and it was later determined the baggie contained 2.22 grams of methamphetamine. A Henderson County deputy received information on an individual with an outstanding parole warrant located in a hotel room in Gun Barrel City. Deputies on the scene reported seeing plastic baggie containing a crystal like substance was reportedly sitting in plain sight on the nightstand next to Hunt.

ICE removed largest number of people in US illegally since 2014: report

Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) -- U.S. immigration authorities in 2024 removed the largest number of people in the country illegally in a decade, according to a new report.

In fiscal year 2024, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removed 271,484 noncitizens -- the highest number since 2014, according to the agency's year-end report, released Thursday.

According to the report, of those removed from the country:

88,763 had charges or convictions for criminal activity;
3,706 were known or suspected gang members;
237 were known or suspected terrorists; and eight were human rights violators

The deportation numbers showed a 90% increase from the past two fiscal years, according to ICE data.

The 2024 fiscal year ended Sept. 30.

The numbers come as President-elect Donald Trump and his allies have been sharply critical of the Biden administration’s immigration policy and its handling of the southwest border. On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to carry out "mass deportations" of people living in the country illegally.

In the last fiscal year, ICE also issued 149,764 immigration detainers for noncitizens with criminal histories — an increase of 19.5% from last fiscal year, when it issued 125,358 detainers.

A detainer is a request from ICE to state and local officials running jails and prisons to hold a noncitizen with removal orders.

Detainers will become a big part of how the incoming Trump administration will seek to deport people from the country, but the challenge is some cities and states don’t recognize the detainers, thus making the jurisdiction a “sanctuary” city or state.

ICE focused its efforts in 2024 on violent offenders, according to the report.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which falls under ICE, conducted 32,608 criminal arrests, seized over 1.6 million pounds of narcotics, identified and/or assisted 1,783 victims of child exploitation, and assisted 818 victims of human trafficking, according to the report.

Trump endorses GOP leadership’s spending deal that would avert shutdown

President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday endorsed a spending deal that House Republican leadership said it had reached to continue to fund the government through March and avoid a government shutdown at the end of the week.

"All Republicans, and even the Democrats, should do what is best for our Country, and vote “YES” for this Bill, TONIGHT!" Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

The House began debating the new bill Thursday evening before a vote later tonight.

Earlier Thursday, House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole told reporters that House Republicans had reached an agreement among themselves. Asked if Trump is on board, Cole replied, “All I’ll tell you is we have an agreement.”

Cole refused to divulge any details of the deal, but he told ABC News that the text of the bill would be posted online shortly.

But in his post, Trump said the "newly agreed to American Relief Act of 2024 will keep the Government open, fund our Great Farmers and others, and provide relief for those severely impacted by the devastating hurricanes."

Meanwhile, Democrats have refused to budge from the deal they originally worked out with Republicans that Trump and Elon Musk demolished on Wednesday.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the latest proposal "laughable" as Democrats gathered to strategize their next move.

“The Musk-Johnson proposal is not serious. It’s laughable. Extreme MAGA Republicans are driving us to a government shutdown," he said.

Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin said it was unclear who Democrats are negotiating with -- Trump or Musk.