Trump brings chaos back by attempting to kill bipartisan budget deal with Musk’s help
The Hindu
President-elect Trump rejects bipartisan budget deal, backed by Elon Musk, sparking chaos and political brinkmanship in Congress.
President-elect Donald Trump delivered a likely death blow to bipartisan congressional budget negotiations on Wednesday (December 18, 2024), rejecting the measure as full of giveaways to Democrats as billionaire ally Elon Musk whipped up outrage toward the bill and cheered on Republican lawmakers who announced their opposition.
Mr. Trump’s joint statement with Vice President-elect JD Vance, which stopped the bill in its tracks, punctuated a daylong torrent of social media posts by Mr. Musk attacking the budget legislation as full of excessive spending.
“Kill the Bill!” Mr. Musk wrote on his social media platform X as he dangled primary challenges against anyone who voted for the budget deal, a threat Mr. Trump later echoed in a post of his own.
The episode showcased the growing political influence of Mr. Musk, whom Mr. Trump has selected alongside entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to spearhead the Department of Government Efficiency, a nongovernmental task force formed to find ways to fire federal workers, cut programmes and slash federal regulations. Mr. Musk, the world’s richest man, spent around $200 million to support Mr. Trump’s candidacy this year.
In his statement with Vance, Mr. Trump criticised the bill and advocated for extending the debt ceiling with President Joe Biden in office.
“Increasing the debt ceiling is not great but we’d rather do it on Mr. Biden’s watch. If Democrats won’t cooperate on a debt ceiling increase now, what makes anyone think they would do it in June during our administration? Let’s have this debate over the debt ceiling now.” Mr. Trump’s opposition to what was considered must-pass legislation reinjected a sense of chaos and political brinkmanship that was reminiscent of his first term in office. It was a dramatic turn of events for House Speaker Mike Johnson, who negotiated the bill and has been undermined by Mr. Trump as he faces reelection for his post in just a couple of weeks. Republicans have a slim majority, raising the possibility of a replay of leadership disputes that paralysed the House a year ago.
President Joe Biden’s administration criticised the possibility of a shutdown.
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