President-elect Donald Trump dealt a likely death blow to bipartisan congressional budget negotiations, dismissing the measure as full of giveaways to Democrats after unelected billionaire ally Elon Musk sparked outrage toward the law and applauded Republican lawmakers who announced their opposition.
As a result, a partial shutdown of the US government could begin on Saturday. Building on previous shutdowns, it could leave government services funded by Congress subject to delays or shutdowns, with thousands of non-essential employees furloughed and essential employees temporarily working without pay.
There were two government shutdowns in Trump's first presidency, both ostensibly related to his demands for border security funding: a matter of days in January 2018 and the longest on record during five weeks in late 2018 and early 2019.
Trump's joint statement Wednesday with Vice President-elect JD Vance stopped the bill in its tracks and set off a torrent of social media posts from Musk attacking the legislation for what he called excessive spending.
"Stop the theft of your tax dollars!" Musk wrote on his social media platform X as he posted the main challenges against anyone who voted for the budget deal. Musk pumped about US$200 million into his own political action committee to help elect Trump.
Musk also encouraged Americans to contact their federal representatives to express disapproval of his bill.
Rep. Andy Barr, a Republican from Kentucky, said his office was inundated with calls from constituents.
"My phone was ringing off the hook," he said. "The people who elected us are listening to Elon Musk."
Republicans received overwhelming criticism from, among others, Vermont's Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.
"Democrats and Republicans spent months negotiating a bipartisan deal to fund our government. The richest man on Earth, President Elon Musk, doesn't like it. Are Republicans kissing the ring?" Sanders wrote to X on Wednesday.
Conflicts seem to abound
The episode showed the growing political influence of Musk, who Trump has tapped along with businessman Vivek Ramaswamy to head the Department of Government Efficiency, a nongovernmental task force formed to find ways to lay off federal workers , cut programs and reduce regulations.
All of Musk's companies intersect with the federal government and are subject to regulation in various ways. SpaceX has billions of dollars in NASA contracts and is CEO of Tesla, the electric car business that benefits from government tax incentives and is subject to auto safety rules.
Musk's purchase of the social media platform Twitter, which was renamed X in 2023 and is still prominently used by politicians and governments, has been investigated for irregularities by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). His other companies include artificial intelligence startup xAI and brain implant maker Neuralink.
"There are direct conflicts between their businesses and the government's interests," Ann Skeet, director of leadership ethics at Santa Clara University, told the Associated Press last month. "Now he's in a position to try to curry favor with those companies."
Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform and a veteran of Washington's budget battles, has been enthusiastic about Musk's ability to generate public attention for efforts to shrink the size of government. But he suggested that the owner of a space rocket company was not the right person to lead a spending debate in Congress.
"He doesn't know politics like he knows physics," he said.
Others were delighted with Musk's involvement.
"In five years in Congress, I've been waiting for a fundamental change in the dynamic," posted Rep. Dan Bishop, R-North Carolina. "It has arrived."
In a post on X, Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul even floated Musk's name as a possible speaker, seeming to relish the possibility of "watching the collective establishment ... lose their minds forever loving".
The Speaker of the Chamber does not have to be a member of Congress. . .
Nothing would stir the swamp more than electing Elon Musk. . . think about it . . nothing is impossible (Not to mention the joy of seeing the collective establishment, a.k.a. “uniparty,” lose their ever-loving…
—@RandPaulAmplified False Claims
Trump's opposition to what was seen as mandatory legislation renewed a sense of uncertainty and political edge in Washington reminiscent of his first term.
It was a dramatic turn of events for House Speaker Mike Johnson, who negotiated the bill and has been undermined by Trump as he faces re-election to his office in just a couple of weeks.
Republicans have a slim majority, raising the possibility of a repeat of the leadership squabbles that paralyzed the House a year ago in the final weeks of Kevin McCarthy's term as president and the first weeks of Johnson.
The Biden administration criticized the possibility of a shutdown.
"Republicans must stop playing politics with this bipartisan deal or they will hurt hardworking Americans and create instability across the country," said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
In his social media posts, Musk sometimes amplified false claims, such as the idea that the legislation included $3 billion for a new football stadium in Washington. In effect, the legislation would transfer ownership of the land from the federal government to the city, paving the way for eventual development.
"I love you Elon, but you need to take 5 seconds to check your sources before highlighting the bottom feeders looking for clicks," Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw told X.
Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said any fallout from a government shutdown would rest solely with Republicans.
"You break the bipartisan deal, you own the consequences," he wrote to X.
As for Trump, earlier this year his disapproval led Republicans to withdraw from a broad bipartisan bill that would have improved border security measures.
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