Gingrich explained that in addition to prohibiting Democrats from helping write the spending bill, House Republicans must be willing to close the government, citing how the government shut down “several times” when he was House speaker in the late 1990s. The House has been unable to balance the budget since 1997, which Gingrich argued would not have been achieved if Republicans did not have “the guts” to refuse to “do dumb things,” taking then-President Bill Clinton and the country by surprise.

“But the country thought, ‘You know, it’s good not to do dumb things,’” Gingrich said on Fox News’s Jesse Watters Primetime. “So, I would hope that Republicans in the House and Senate will take seriously the warnings of President Trump and of Vivek Ramaswamy and of Elon Musk. Look at the bill. Realize this bill is stupid!”

To remedy the current dilemma, Gingrich contended that House Republicans could come together and pass a “very tight” continuing resolution bill, which could pass even with the party’s razor-thin majority within the House. 

Another solution pitched by Gingrich would be to have Johnson gather President-elect Donald Trump, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, and the Department of Government Efficiency co-heads, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, as well as all House Republicans to do an “all day long” meeting to get them all to agree on a “dramatically thinned-down” bill, compared to the 1,547-page spending bill Johnson originally proposed. If this is not possible, Gingrich explained, the House ought to pass a simple continuing resolution with “nothing on it” to keep the government open until Republicans regain the Senate.

Despite his criticism of Johnson and the current House GOP, Gingrich stressed that he is “very pro-Johnson” and that he cannot imagine the stress the speaker goes through with the incredibly thin majority he has to work with in Congress.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) told reporters Wednesday night that the government funding legislation deal was pulled from consideration and that lawmakers are “looking at a number of options” as a path forward after Musk, Ramaswamy, and Trump all voiced their opposition to it on social media.

Amid the increasing resistance that Johnson is facing for his performance as House speaker, as well as speculation over who could replace him come January, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) indicated that Johnson will likely retain his position as speaker, citing how he seems to have the backing of Trump. He also suggested that many Republicans do not want to go through the process of electing a new House speaker “again,” referring to how Johnson was elected after former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted in October 2023.