WASHINGTON — House Republican leaders are running out of time to avoid a partial government shutdown late Friday night, after the President-elect Donald Trump and his allies sank a compromise bill to fund the government until March.

The continuing resolution unveiled late Tuesday night appeared early as if it would need Democratic votes to pass the narrowly divided House, after hardline conservatives backed away from the price tag and several provisions of the bill, which included pay rise for members of Congress. .

But Trump's formal opposition for the bill late Wednesday came only after a billionaire GOP megadonor Elon Musk spent the day railing against the bill, gradually making it politically impossible for most of the House Republican conference to support it.

The very public collapse of the massive, negotiated bill also put House Speaker Mike Johnson's standing among his conference in jeopardy. The Louisiana Republican insisted on including several major spending initiatives in the bill, designed in part to win the necessary Democratic support in the Senate for the bill to become law.

Instead of simply asking for a lower price, Trump surprised many Republicans on Wednesday by demanding that any bill to fund the government must also raise the debt ceiling.

The debt ceiling has become a recurring and bitter debate in Washington every few years, and one that Trump is eager to avoid during the start of his second term in office.

"Raising the debt limit is not a big deal but we'd rather do it on Biden's watch," Trump said in a statement Wednesday announcing his opposition to Johnson's continuing resolution.

"If the Democrats are not going to cooperate on the debt ceiling now, what makes anyone think they are going to do it in June during our administration? Let's have this debate now. And we should pass a bill of "simplified spending that doesn't give Chuck Schumer and the Democrats everything they want."

This is a developing story, please check back for updates.