Spending bill trouble brews as Sen Mike Lee warns of Christmas ‘swampbus’

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, is warning Americans that Congress might attempt to pass a large omnibus spending bill ahead of the pre-Christmas deadline, which he said would allow the government to continue operating under Democrats’ and President Biden’s preferred spending levels. 

“Don’t let the swamp steal Christmas!” he penned in a letter to the American people, obtained by Fox News Digital on Monday. The document featured a rendering of Biden as the Grinch. 

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Lee accused Democrats of trying to sabotage Trump’s presidency by keeping spending at Biden’s levels. (Reuters)

“Congress may soon deliver a massive Christmas gift to Joe Biden at the expense of the American people in the form of legislation called an omnibus. This is their last chance to do favors for K Street lobbyists, give carve-outs to donors and friends, and generally spend your tax dollars like there’s no tomorrow,” the letter said. 

According to Lee, such a bill would sabotage President-elect Trump’s agenda by design.  

He predicted several items that might be part of a “swampbus,” including a stopgap spending bill that lasts for a year, more funding for Ukraine, an additional suspension of the debt limit, and other bill priorities with looming deadlines. 

Lee urged Americans to contact their senators and representatives to demand they not support any omnibus. 

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“Instead, Congress should pass a SHORT TERM continuing resolution for a few months, so that Donald Trump and the unified Republican Congress – decisively elected by Americans just two weeks ago – can drain the swamp, reform our government, and Make America Great Again,” he said. 

A continuing resolution (CR) is a stopgap measure that would keep spending steady for a period of time. 

Operating in “regular order,” Congress would pass several individual bills responsible for spending on various specific functions of government. However, a stopgap bill or a CR would simply extend the current spending levels across the board. 

On “Fox News Sunday,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., shared this perspective, telling host Shannon Bream, “[W]e’ll have a temporary measure, I think, that would go into the first part of next year and allow us the necessary time to get this done,” if individual appropriations bills are not passed by the Dec. 20 deadline. 

“Chuck Schumer is still the Democrat leader there in the Senate, and he has refused to put a single appropriations bill on the floor,” he said of the Democratic majority leader.

Johnson noted that with majorities in both the House and Senate and control of the White House in 2025, Republicans would be able to craft and pass a more favorable spending bill with a short-term CR. 

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Johnson predicted a continuing resolution may be necessary. (Allison Robbert/Pool via AP)

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, ranking member of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, said she still hopes to pass individual appropriations bills, but that it ultimately depends on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and what he wants to do. 

“But I think it’s a big mistake to have the appropriations process – for this fiscal year – go into next fiscal year and risk triggering the caps, which would result in a substantial decrease – more than a 5% decrease in defense spending,” she added. 

As of Wednesday, Collins said she hadn’t seen Schumer after recess, let alone discussed appropriations with him. 

Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., noted that passing the spending bills individually would be his preference, but when it comes to an omnibus or a continuing resolution stopgap bill, he’d rather the former. 

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Collins is ranking member of the Appropriations Committee. (Mark Makela/Getty Images)

Congress will “probably end up with an omnibus,” he told Fox News Digital, “but I’d like to go ahead and clear the decks now so we can come back and get started.”

According to the senator, “If you ask our military leaders what hurts them the most, it’s these continuing resolutions.”

“You can imagine how it would be if you had to keep spending money exactly like you spent the previous year, not being able to start any new projects.” 

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If new spending is not approved by way of appropriations bills or a stopgap measure, a partial government shutdown could be ushered in before Christmas. 

Schumer’s office did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital.