U.S. Braces for Potential Government Shutdown Following Actions by President-Elect Trump and Elon Musk
The United States is teetering on the brink of a government shutdown as President-elect Donald Trump, spurred on by influential billionaire Elon Musk who has financially supported Trump’s reelection bid, sabotaged a crucial federal spending bill. This bill was essential to keep the government operational in the coming months. Musk, who is also expected to play a significant role in reducing government spending and regulatory measures under Trump’s administration, played a pivotal role in this decision.
This move has attracted stern criticism from Democrats, with some speculating that Musk might be the actual power behind the throne.
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) expressed his concerns on social media, stating, “This week, the U.S. Congress reached an agreement to fund our government. Elon Musk, whose wealth increased by $200 billion since Trump’s election, objected. Do Republicans serve the American public, or President Musk? This situation is characteristic of an oligarchy.”
On MSNBC Wednesday night, Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) described Musk as “essentially a shadow president.”
The commentary escalated on Thursday, with Representative Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) suggesting a new dynamic in the White House: “Welcome to the Elon Musk presidency, with Donald Trump evidently playing second fiddle. They are pushing for a government shutdown that would adversely affect millions of Americans. It’s absolutely ludicrous.”
Former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, shared a similar sentiment in an article for Common Dreams published on Thursday, emphasizing, “If this isn’t an oligarchy, then I’m not sure what is. You might lose access to essential services right before the holidays simply because an unelected billionaire shadow president desires it.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance responded to the spending bill with a statement claiming the bill was full of “DEMOCRATIC GIVEAWAYS.” Trump’s response came shortly after Musk spent the day voicing his disapproval of the spending package on the social media platform X, which he owns. Musk posted over 150 messages urging GOP members to reject the spending bill, as reported by The New York Times.
The bipartisan spending bill, introduced by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Tuesday, aimed to fund the government at current levels until March 14 and included about $100 billion for disaster relief and an additional $10 billion for economic aid to farmers.
In their critique of the bill, Trump and Vance also demanded an increase in the debt ceiling, introducing the contentious issue of national debt, which is currently surpassing $36 trillion, into the debate. Trump has even suggested eliminating the debt ceiling altogether, according to a report from NBC News on Thursday.
Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) criticized this approach, remarking, “Ha! Trump’s only reason for lifting the debt ceiling is to borrow a tremendous amount of money to fund his massive new tax cuts for billionaires and corporations. Essentially, he’s loading regular Americans with more debt so the wealthy can prosper even more.”
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