US President-elect Donald Trump likely dealt a death blow to bipartisan budget negotiations in Congress by rejecting the measure as full of giveaways for Democrats, after unelected billionaire ally Elon Musk stoked outrage over the bill and cheered Republican lawmakers who passed it had announced their rejection of it.
As a result, a partial US government shutdown could begin on Saturday. Based on previous closures, this could result in congressionally funded government services being delayed or closed, with thousands of non-essential employees furloughed and essential employees temporarily working without pay.
Trump’s first presidency saw two government shutdowns, both ostensibly related to his border security funding demands – a days-long affair in January 2018 and the longest on record in the five weeks in late 2018 and early 2019.
Trump’s joint statement Wednesday with Vice President-elect JD Vance halted the bill and sparked a flood of social media posts from Musk attacking the legislation for what he called excessive spending.
“Stop stealing your tax dollars!” Musk wrote on his social media platform Musk pumped an estimated $200 million into his own political action committee to help elect Trump.
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Musk also encouraged Americans to contact their federal representatives to express their opposition to her bill.
Rep. Andy Barr, a Republican from Kentucky, said his office has been inundated with calls from constituents.
“My phone rang immediately,” he said. “The people who elected us listen to Elon Musk.”
Republicans faced heavy criticism, including from Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.
“Democrats and Republicans have spent months negotiating a bipartisan deal to fund our government. The richest man in the world, President Elon Musk, doesn’t like it. “Will the Republicans kiss the ring?” Sanders wrote on X on Wednesday.
Conflicts seem to be plentiful
The episode highlighted the growing political influence of Musk, whom Trump has chosen alongside entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, a non-governmental task force created to find ways to lay off federal workers, cut programs and reduce regulations.
Musk’s companies all interface with the federal government and are subject to regulation in different ways. SpaceX holds billions of dollars in NASA contracts and is CEO of Tesla, the electric car company that benefits from government tax incentives and is subject to car safety regulations.
Musk’s purchase of the social media platform Twitter, which was renamed X in 2023 and is still used prominently by politicians and governments, was examined for irregularities from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). His other companies include artificial intelligence startup xAI and brain implant maker Neuralink.
“There are direct conflicts between his businesses and the interests of the government,” Ann Skeet, director of leadership ethics at Santa Clara University, told the Associated Press last month. “He is now in a position to curry favor with these companies.”
Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform and a veteran of budget battles in Washington, expressed enthusiasm for Musk’s ability to draw public attention to efforts 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 spending debate in Congress.
“He doesn’t know politics as well as he knows physics,” he said.
Others were enthusiastic about Musk’s commitment.
“In my five years in Congress, I have waited for a fundamental shift in the dynamic,” wrote North Carolina Republican Dan Bishop. “It arrived.”
In a post on
The Speaker of the House of Representatives does not have to be a member of Congress. . .
Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than the election of Elon Musk. . . Think about it. . . nothing is impossible. (Not to mention the joy of watching the collective establishment, aka the “Uniparty,” lose its eternal love…
Amplified false claims
Trump’s opposition to the law, which was seen as mandatory to pass, renewed a sense of uncertainty and political risk-taking in Washington reminiscent of his first term.
It was a dramatic turnaround for House Speaker Mike Johnson, who negotiated the bill and was undermined by Trump as he faces re-election to office in just weeks.
Republicans have a slim majority, raising the possibility 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 the first weeks of Johnson’s.
The Biden administration criticized the possibility of a shutdown.
“Republicans must stop playing politics with this bipartisan agreement or they will hurt hardworking Americans and create instability across the country,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
In his social media posts, Musk sometimes amplified false claims, such as the idea that the legislation included $3 billion for a new soccer stadium in Washington. In effect, the legislation would transfer ownership of the land from the federal government to the city, paving the way for later development.
“I love you, Elon, but you need to take five seconds to check your sources before highlighting the bottom feeders looking for clicks,” Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw said on X.
Hakeem Jeffries, leader of the Democratic minority in the House of Representatives, said the consequences of a government shutdown would only affect Republicans.
“If you break the bipartisan agreement, you will bear the consequences that follow,” he wrote on X.
As for Trump, his disapproval earlier this year led Republicans to back away from a sweeping bipartisan bill that would have improved border security measures.
