Trump, Musk scrap US government spending bill
Date
12/21/2024 2:30:23 AM
(MENAFN) The US government is on the brink of a partial shutdown after a stopgap spending bill, proposed earlier this week, was abandoned under pressure from President-elect Donald trump and tech mogul Elon Musk. The current funding for the government expires on Friday, and unless a new bill is passed by then, millions of federal workers could face delays in their paychecks.
The proposed bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), was unveiled on Tuesday, just days before the funding deadline. It would have allowed government spending to continue at current levels for the next three months, giving the newly elected Congress time to work on more permanent funding. The 1,547-page proposal included provisions such as a pay raise for lawmakers, $100 billion in disaster relief, $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers, new foreign investment restrictions, and healthcare reforms.
However, Republicans immediately criticized the bill, arguing that it was too full of Democratic priorities and unnecessary spending. Musk, who was nominated by Trump to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) tasked with cutting federal spending, launched a campaign against the bill on social media.
Musk condemned the package as "criminal," "outrageous," and "one of the worst bills ever written," flooding his social media account with over 60 posts calling for its rejection. His vocal opposition was echoed by Trump, who slammed the bill for being full of “Democrat giveaways” and urged Republicans to "call the Democrats' bluff" if they threatened a government shutdown.
Despite the unusual involvement of the incoming president and his team before taking office, Trump and Musk's pressure led to the bill being scrapped. Musk celebrated the outcome, writing on social media that the bill was “dead” and declaring that “the voice of the people has triumphed.”
With the shutdown looming, it remains uncertain whether House Speaker Mike Johnson, who introduced the bill, will be able to come up with an alternative before the Friday deadline. One option could be a “clean” CR, which would strip away the additional provisions, but Johnson has yet to schedule a vote on this revised measure.
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