On Wednesday afternoon, President-elect Donald Trump rejected a bipartisan government funding bill that would have averted a shutdown, the suspension of all federal activities. The joint statement by Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance left Republican leaders busy working out a new plan in the House, where the MAGA leader wields considerable influence.
The bill would have kept the government open until March 14, while also providing about $100 billion in aid, in case of natural disasters. Most of the funds were to go to FEMA, whose resources were drained by last fall’s hurricane-related emergencies. About 10 billion, on the other hand, should have gone to farmers.
Without action from Congress, however, the shutdown will take place one minute after midnight on Saturday.
“Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH. If Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, then CALL THEIR BLUFF,” Trump and Vance said. “It is [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer and [President Joe] Biden who are holding up aid to our farmers and disaster relief.”
In a real twist, the MAGA leader also called for the legislation to include an increase in the debt ceiling, which neither party had considered. “Increasing the debt ceiling is not great but we’d rather do it on Biden’s watch,” Trump said, “If Democrats won’t cooperate on the debt ceiling now, what makes anyone think they would do it in June during our administration? Let’s have this debate now. And we should pass a streamlined spending bill that doesn’t give Chuck Schumer and the Democrats everything they want.”
Trump’s words came shortly after those of Elon Musk, who yesterday had harshly attacked, on his X profile, Republicans who had signed the agreement. Indeed, the president-elect did nothing more than accede to the words of his future DOGE secretary, saying that GOP members must pass a temporary funding bill, “without giving gifts to Democrats.”
Naturally, Trump’s words elicited different reactions from within the ranks of the two political camps. In particular, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York, said: “House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government, and hurt the working class Americans they claim to support. You break the bipartisan agreement, you own the consequences that follow.”
