December 18, 2015 - 10:26 AM EST
BY JONATHAN EASLEYTWEET SHARE MORE
GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump excoriated House Republicans for passing a $1.1 trillion funding bill on Friday, claiming they “threw in the towel” to avoid a government shutdown.
“If anyone needs more evidence of why the American people are suffering at the hands of their own government, look no further than the budget deal announced by Speaker Ryan,” Trump said in a statement to ABC News.
“In order to avoid a government shutdown, a cowardly threat from an incompetent president, the elected Republicans in Congress threw in the towel and showed absolutely no budget discipline.”
The House easily passed the spending bill on Friday in a 316-113 vote, which featured the support of 150 Republicans in a major victory for new Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), whose leadership team whipped furiously in support of the bill.
The Senate is expected to approve the spending bill, along with a House-passed tax package, later in the day. The White House has said President Obama will sign both measures.
Trump on Friday blasted the spending bill, saying it would result in “higher deficits, greater debt, less economic liberty and more corporate welfare.”
“Congress cannot seem to help itself in bending to every whim of special interests,” Trump said. “How can they face their constituents when they continue to burden our children and grandchildren with debts they will never be able to repay? Our government is failing us, so we must do something about it. Who knows how bad things will be when the next administration comes in and has to pick up the pieces?”
The spending bill includes the first major change to ObamaCare since the healthcare law was first passed by Congress — suspending the “Cadillac tax" on top-end insurance plans.
But some conservatives were disappointed with the overall bill, saying it was largely negotiated by former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on his way out of office. The bill also didn’t put any new restrictions on Syrian refugees entering the country or block government funding for Planned Parenthood.
“The only special interest not being served by our government is the American people,” Trump said. “It is time we imposed budget discipline by holding the line on spending, getting rid of waste, fraud and abuse, and by taking on our debt. To do these things, we need a president who can lead the fight to hold Congress and the rest of the government accountable.”
