President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday called on US lawmakers to reject a stopgap bill to keep the government funded last Friday, raising the possibility of a partial shutdown.
Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance called on lawmakers to pass a temporary spending bill different from the one unveiled Tuesday, free of what they called “Democrat giveaways.” Trump also called on lawmakers to use the bill to address the nation’s debt ceiling, injecting a new element of complexity into the process.
That could complicate efforts to prevent a shutdown that disrupts everything from air travel to law enforcement days before the Dec. 25 Christmas holiday. It will be the first government shutdown in Trump’s first four-year White House tenure, extending from December 2018 to 2019.
Democrats currently control the Senate, and Democratic President Joe Biden will remain in power until Trump takes office on January 20.
The current bill would fund government agencies at current levels and provide $100 billion for disaster relief and $10 billion in agricultural aid. It also includes a wide range of unrelated provisions, such as a pay rise for MPs and a crackdown on hidden hotel charges.
Trump and Vance said Congress should limit the bill to temporary spending and disaster relief — and also raise the national debt limit, a politically painful task that will come to a head next year.
“If the Democrats are not going to support the debt ceiling now, what makes anyone think they’re going to do it in June during our administration?” They said in a statement.
Congress’s next move was unclear. A bipartisan deal would be needed to pass any spending bill through the House of Representatives and the Senate, where Republicans hold narrow majorities.
The stopgap measure is necessary because Congress has failed to pass regular spending legislation for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1. This does not include benefit programs such as Social Security, which continue automatically.
The U.S. government is spending more money than it has in more than 20 years, as Democrats have expanded health programs and Republicans have cut taxes, and an aging population is expected to drive up the cost of retirement and health programs over the years. come on The steadily rising debt — currently $36 trillion — will force lawmakers to raise the debt ceiling at some point, either now or when the borrowing authority expires next year. Failure to act could shock bond markets with potentially serious economic consequences.
Musk enters
Trump’s comments came after his ally Elon Musk pressed Congress to reject the bill and said those who supported it should be thrown out of office.
Tesla’s chief executive and the world’s richest man, who spent more than $250 million to help Trump get elected, has blamed Trump for cutting the federal budget.
Unless Congress acts, the federal government will run out of money to fund Saturday operations. On Tuesday, negotiators agreed to a deal to extend funding until March 14.
House Republicans who helped negotiate the bill say Musk’s opposition has complicated passage. “There’s no easy fix for anything around here,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole said.
Democrats said Trump’s remarks were a sign of chaos ahead. “House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government. And they hurt the working class Americans they claim to support. You break a bipartisan deal, you own the consequences that follow,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on social media.
Many Republicans have already objected to additional spending and unrelated provisions added to the package.
Trump has occasionally expressed support for government shutdowns in the past, and the 2018-2019 shutdown was the longest in US history, lasting 34 days.
Musk has emerged as the biggest spender in American politics this year, and his threats may resonate with some Republicans. It carries less weight with Democrats who represent solidly liberal constituencies, or senators from both parties who won’t be running for re-election for another six years. Musk tried and failed to influence the outcome of the Senate Republican leadership race in November.
A wide range of government services will be disrupted unless Congress acts before Saturday, including agencies such as the Pentagon and NASA, which do business with Musk’s companies.
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