Trump is not back in office yet, but he is already causing chaos
President-elect Donald Trump still has a month to go before returning to office, but he shows he’s already firmly back in power over Republicans in Congress — and he’s not afraid to throw them into a last-minute tailspin.
On Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Trump blew up a bipartisan agreement to avoid a government shutdown with an ad on He also called for an increase in the federal debt ceiling so that would not happen on his watch — something neither party discussed as part of this deal.
“We must pass a streamlined spending bill that doesn’t give Chuck Schumer and the Democrats everything they want,” Mr. Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance said. He said in a joint statementIn reference to the Democratic majority leader in the Senate. “Republicans have to be smart and tough. “If Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, then they have called their bluff.”
Why did we write this?
When President-elect Trump called the bipartisan funding bill a bad deal, it fell apart. The result could be a government shutdown – reflecting Trump’s pattern of occasionally throwing Congress into turmoil.
The federal government will shut down on Friday at midnight if Congress does not act, and currently there is no clear path forward for congressional leaders to reach an agreement.
Bell was not very popular, but he would have avoided closure
The temporary spending bill had already drawn criticism from Republicans across the political spectrum, who were angry at Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson for approving it. Attached to the package were various unrelated provisions – including a significant pay raise for lawmakers as well as $110 billion in disaster relief, and a health policy change aimed at cutting out pharmaceutical middlemen to cut costs. The bill was only a stopgap measure to fund the government until mid-March, and it also included some provisions badly wanted by Republicans in Congress, including a one-year extension of the farm bill that included large subsidies for farmers. No one liked the bill, but it looked like it would have enough bipartisan support to pass before Mr. Trump intervened.
Mr. Trump and his allies say this pivot is necessary to pave the way for the new administration to get off the ground quickly. Notably, they want to avoid pressure to raise the debt limit in mid-2025, when Democrats may try to use the issue as an opportunity to gain leverage against the Republican agenda.
But his latest move signals a return to the level of legislative chaos that was the hallmark of Trump’s first term in office.
Mr. Trump’s first term in office was filled with stretches like this. He would often pay little attention to what was happening on Capitol Hill, then decide at the last minute that he was unhappy with the product, throwing negotiations into disarray and sometimes striking down key legislation. Six years ago this week, in late December 2018, Mr. Trump suddenly refused to accept a bipartisan appropriations bill that had passed unanimously in the GOP-controlled Senate because it did not include the money he wanted to build his wall along the border between United States and Mexico. . The government shutdown that followed It lasted 35 days – The longest in the history of the United States. He has scuttled other bipartisan deals even since leaving office Kill bill President Biden had negotiated with Senate Republicans to crack down on border crossings earlier this year.
Republicans’ margin of error in the next Congress will be much smaller than it was when Trump first won office. They would only have a 220-215 seat majority in the House, meaning they could afford to lose just two votes on any major legislation, yet still pass a bill if they had no Democratic support.
The current unrest not only threatens to shut down the government on the eve of the new Congress, but could cost Johnson the Speakership of Parliament. He can only afford to lose a few GOP votes if he wants to keep office when Congress reconvenes in a few weeks on Jan. 3, and the deal he offered has so enraged some of its members that there is no guarantee they will all return. him – especially if the president-elect decides not to support him publicly. Now, Mr. Trump Nothing seemed too pleasing.
The growing role of Elon Musk
There’s a new X-factor for the incoming administration — and it involves X’s billionaire owner. Mr. Trump’s request to scrap the deal came after Elon Musk, a major donor to his campaign and a new adviser on government efficiency, spent the day attacking the bill and warning lawmakers that they would face primary challengers if they supported it. Mr Musk celebrated victory when the bill collapsed, posting: “Your elected representatives listened to you and now this terrible bill is over. The voice of the people has prevailed!”
Democrats do not appear keen to help Republicans save themselves.
“House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government. “And they hurt the American working class that they claim to support,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Published on X Wednesday afternoon. “If you break the bipartisan agreement, you bear the consequences that follow.”
“A deal is a deal. Republicans must keep their word,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Wednesday evening.
Mr. Trump and Vance ended their surprise statement with a sweeping promise: “This mess wouldn’t have happened if we had a real president. We will do it within 32 days!
But if it weren’t for Mr. Trump, the chaos would likely be over. Instead, it arrived – just in time for the holidays, and one month ahead of schedule.