US President-elect Donald Trump has dealt a likely fatal blow to bipartisan congressional budget negotiations, dismissing the measure as full of giveaways for Democrats after unelected billionaire ally Elon Musk sparked outrage over the bill and cheered Republican lawmakers who announced their opposition to it.
As a result, a partial shutdown of U.S. government operations could begin on Saturday. Given previous shutdowns, this could lead to delays or closures of congressionally funded government services, resulting in thousands of nonessential workers being furloughed and essential workers working temporarily without pay.
There were two government shutdowns during Trump's first presidency, both allegedly related to his border security funding demands – a case lasting several days in January 2018 and the longest on record for five weeks in late 2018 and early 2019.
A joint statement Wednesday by Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance halted work on the bill and interrupted a flurry of social media posts in which Musk attacked the legislation for what he described as excessive spending.
“Stop stealing your taxes!” Musk posted an X on his social media platform, laying out the main challenges to anyone who voted for the budget deal. Musk pumped an estimated $200 million into his own political action committee to help elect Trump.
Days before the deadline, the US government reached a tentative agreement to raise the debt ceiling. Almost every year, this puts the country – and the world – on the brink of economic disaster due to the debt ceiling being breached. Andrew Chang explains what the debt ceiling is and what would happen if it were not raised.
Musk also encouraged Americans to contact their federal representatives and express their disapproval of their bill.
Rep. Andy Barr, a Republican from Kentucky, said his office has been inundated with calls from constituents.
“My phone started ringing,” he said. “The people who elected us listen to Elon Musk.”
Republicans faced sharp criticism, including from Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent lawmaker who argues with Democrats.
“Democrats and Republicans have spent months negotiating a bipartisan agreement on funding our government. The richest man on Earth, President Elon Musk, doesn't like it. Will Republicans kiss the ring?” Sanders wrote to X on Wednesday.
There seem to be plenty of conflicts
The episode showed the growing political influence of Musk, whom Trump tapped along with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, a nongovernmental task force created to find ways to lay off federal workers, cut programs and limit regulations.
All of Musk's companies work with the federal government and are subject to various regulations. SpaceX has billions of dollars in contracts with NASA and is the CEO of Tesla, an electric car company that benefits from government tax incentives and is subject to auto safety regulations.
Musk's purchase of the social media platform Twitter, which was renamed X in 2023 and is still widely used by politicians and governments, was examined for irregularities by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). His other companies include artificial intelligence startup xAI and brain implant maker Neuralink.
“There is a direct conflict between his businesses and government interests,” Ann Skeet, director of leadership ethics at Santa Clara University, told the Associated Press last month. “He can now try to curry favor with these companies.”
Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform and a veteran of Washington's budget battles, was enthusiastic about Musk's ability to attract public attention to reduce the size of government. But he suggested that the owner of a space rocket company was not the right person to lead a congressional spending debate.
“He doesn't know politics as well as he knows physics,” he said.
Others were delighted with Musk's involvement.
“In my five years in Congress, I have waited for a fundamental change in the dynamics,” wrote Rep. Dan Bishop, a Republican from North Carolina. “It has arrived.”
In a post on X, Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul even mentioned Musk's name as a potential speaker, apparently relishing the opportunity to “see the collective establishment… lose their ever-loving minds.”
The Speaker of the House does not have to be a member of Congress. . .
Nothing would disturb the swamp more than the election of Elon Musk. . . think about it. . . nothing is impossible. (not to mention the joy of seeing the collective establishment, i.e. “one party”, lose its always beloved…
Amplified false claims
Trump's opposition to legislation deemed necessary has renewed a sense of uncertainty and political teetering in Washington that was reminiscent of his first term.
It was a dramatic turn of events for House Speaker Mike Johnson, who negotiated the bill and found himself undermined by Trump as he faces re-election to the post in a few weeks.
Republicans have a slim majority, which creates a risk of a repeat of the leadership disputes that paralyzed the House a year ago in the final weeks of Kevin McCarthy's term as speaker and in the first weeks of Johnson's term.
The Biden administration has criticized the possibility of suspending operations.
“Republicans must stop playing politics with this bipartisan agreement or they will hurt hard-working Americans and create instability across the country,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
In his social media posts, Musk sometimes amplified false claims, such as the claim that the legislation included $3 billion for a new soccer stadium in Washington. In fact, the legislation would transfer ownership of the land from the federal government to the city, paving the way for eventual development.
“I love you, Elon, but you need to take 5 seconds to check your sources before singling out the low-end people looking for clicks,” Texas Republican Dan Crenshaw said on X.
Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said any fallout from a government shutdown would be the sole responsibility of Republicans.
“If you break a cross-party agreement, you suffer the consequences,” he wrote in X.
As for Trump, earlier this year his disapproval led Republicans to withdraw from a sweeping bipartisan bill that would have strengthened border security measures.