WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump likely dealt a death blow to bipartisan budget negotiations in Congress on Wednesday, rejecting the measure because it was packed with gifts for Democrats and risked a government shutdown just before Christmas enlarged.
“Republicans need to get SMART and STRONG. If Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, call their bluff,” Trump said in a joint statement with JD Vance, the newly elected vice president.
It was a show of dominance from a president-elect who is still a month away from the inauguration and hundreds of miles from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. It brought back a sense of chaos and political mismanagement reminiscent of his first term in office.
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The episode also showed the influence of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who spent the day attacking the budget legislation for being filled with excessive spending. They caused a social media firestorm — Musk even threatened to support primary challenges against anyone who voted for the measure — before Trump decided to insert himself.
“Kill the Bill!” Musk wrote on his social media platform X as he gleefully reposted messages from Republican House members vowing not to support the bill.
Trump’s allies were overjoyed by his intervention, seeing it as the fulfillment of his promise to shake up Washington. But lawmakers were also baffled by how a crucial bipartisan agreement could fall apart so quickly, just days before the deadline. There are also questions about the future of Trump-backed House Speaker Mike Johnson, who pushed the budget legislation and is set to be re-elected to his post in a few weeks.
