A US government shutdown could be two days away after President-elect Donald Trump called on Republican lawmakers to reject a cross-party funding bill.
Trump urged Congress to scrap the deal and pass a streamlined bill. His intervention followed heavy criticism of the bill by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Congressman Steve Scalise, the Republican House Majority Leader, indicated on Wednesday night that the bill was dead after Trump denounced it.
The short-term funding bill will need to be passed by Congress by the end of week to prevent many federal government offices from shuttering beginning on Saturday.
The bill, known as a continuing resolution, is required because Congress never passed a budget for the 2025 fiscal year, which began on 1 October.
Unless Congress acts, government services ranging from the National Parks Service to Border Patrol will begin closing this weekend.
In posts on his social media site, Truth Social, Trump threatened to help unseat “any Republican that would be so stupid as to” vote in favour of the current version of the bill, which was unveiled on Tuesday by House and Senate leaders.
“If Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, then CALL THEIR BLUFF,” he said.
He also called, in a joint statement with incoming vice-president JD Vance, for Congress to raise the debt ceiling, which determines how much the government can borrow to pay its bills, and limit the bill to focusing just on temporary spending and disaster relief.
The 1,500-page bill included more than $110bn (£88bn) in emergency disaster relief and $30bn (£23bn) in aid to farmers. It also included the first pay raise for lawmakers since 2009, federal funds to rebuild a bridge that collapsed in Baltimore, healthcare reforms, and provisions aimed at preventing hotels and live event venues from deceptive advertising.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre issued a statement after Trump came out against the bill, saying: “Republicans need to stop playing politics with this bipartisan agreement or they will hurt hardworking Americans and create instability across the country.”
“Triggering a damaging government shutdown would hurt families,” President Joe Biden’s spokeswoman continued, adding: “A deal is a deal. Republicans should keep their word.”
When asked by CNN on Wednesday night whether the existed deal had officially been scrapped, Congressman Scalise said: “Yes”.
He added that “there is no new agreement right now” and that “there’s still a lot of negotiations and conversations going on”.
It is not clear how Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson plans to proceed.
Mr Musk, who Trump has tasked with cutting government spending in his future administration, lobbied heavily against the existing deal.
On Wednesday night, Mr Musk posted on X: “Your elected representatives have heard you and now the terrible bill is dead. The voice of the people has triumphed.”
There have been 21 US government shutdowns or partial shutdowns over the past five decades – the longest of which was during Trump’s first term when the government was shuttered for 35 days. (BBC News)
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