Trump rejects bill, leaving congress 2 days to avert shutdown
3 Min Read
The US government has had a spending deficit for over two decades, with growing debt now at $36 trillion.
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Former President Donald Trump speaks during a town hall meeting in Wisconsin, on August 29, 2024. (AFP)
The US Congress faces a looming deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown, as President-elect Donald Trump rejected a bipartisan funding deal late on Wednesday.
He demanded that lawmakers also raise the nation's debt ceiling before his January inauguration. Trump urged his fellow Republicans to oppose a stopgap bill meant to keep the government funded beyond Friday’s midnight deadline.
If no action is taken, a partial government shutdown will begin on Saturday, potentially disrupting services like air travel and law enforcement just before the Christmas holiday. The bipartisan deal, reached on Tuesday, would have extended government funding through March 14.
Why it matters
Trump warned that any Republican supporting the current legislative package could face re-election challenges, saying, "Any Republican that would be so stupid as to do this should, and will, be Primaried" on his Truth Social platform.
This would be the first government shutdown since the one in December 2018, which lasted into 2019 during Trump's first term. Now, Trump is pushing Congress to raise the debt ceiling and extend government funding, a politically difficult task. He also called for removing provisions in the deal that were supported by Democrats.
Driving the news
Trump’s comments followed a push from his ally, Elon Musk, who has been tasked with trimming the federal budget. Musk pressured Congress to reject the bill and argued that those who support it should be voted out. After a meeting with Vice President-elect JD Vance and other Republican leaders, House Speaker Mike Johnson said there was a "productive conversation" but provided no further details.
When asked whether raising the debt ceiling would be part of a potential agreement, House Republican leader Steve Scalise responded that they were "not there yet." House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole, also at the meeting, expressed uncertainty about avoiding a government shutdown, saying, "I'm not confident of anything."
The next steps for Congress are unclear, and bipartisan support will be necessary to pass any spending bill in both the House, where Republicans hold a slim majority, and the Senate, where Democrats control a narrow majority.
The big picture
The White House, under outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden, criticized Republicans for "playing politics" and warned that a government shutdown would have damaging effects. The current bill would fund government agencies at existing levels, provide $100 billion for disaster relief, and allocate $10 billion in farm aid. It also includes unrelated provisions, such as a pay raise for lawmakers and a crackdown on hidden hotel fees. Trump has urged lawmakers to limit the bill to temporary spending and disaster relief while raising the debt ceiling now to avoid complications next year.
The stopgap measure is necessary because Congress failed to pass regular spending bills for the fiscal year starting on October 1. It does not cover entitlement programs like Social Security, which continue automatically. The U.S. government has had a spending deficit for over two decades, with growing debt now at $36 trillion. Lawmakers will eventually need to raise the debt ceiling, either now or when borrowing authority expires next year, to avoid serious economic repercussions.
