Jeffries Urges Urgent Talks on '24 Spending and Demands Debt Deal Compliance
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is urging immediate bipartisan talks on 2024 spending, insisting on funding levels agreed upon in the bipartisan debt ceiling bill. The House recently approved a two-tiered continuing resolution (CR) to extend funding at current levels, angering House conservatives who want separate passage of each appropriations bill. This battle poses a challenge for new Speaker Mike Johnson, who must navigate between conservative demands for spending cuts and Democratic resistance to anything below the negotiated figures. Jeffries argues that the spending numbers from the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act should be adhered to.