Impending shutdown in the USA Trump and Musk intervene in budget debate
Shortly before the holidays, Donald Trump is accepting a shutdown of US government business with a demand to his party. Does tech billionaire Elon Musk have a hand in this?
19.12.2024, 04:49
19.12.2024, 06:03
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- US President-elect Donald Trump is torpedoing the passage of a stopgap budget in Congress shortly before the deadline, risking a government shutdown.
- Trump called on all his Republican representatives not to approve a bill that had already been negotiated with the Democrats.
- In order to prevent a government shutdown on Saturday night (local time), President Joe Biden must sign the bill by Friday at the latest.
- If this does not happen, some state institutions will have to stop working and many civil servants will remain unpaid.
US President-elect Donald Trump is torpedoing the passage of a stopgap budget in Congress shortly before the deadline, risking a government shutdown. Trump called on all his Republican representatives not to approve a bill that has already been negotiated with the Democrats. "The Republicans must get SMART and STRONG," said a statement from the Trump team. He blamed the party of US President Joe Biden should a so-called shutdown occur.
In order to prevent a government shutdown on Saturday night (local time), Biden must sign the bill by Friday at the latest. If this does not happen, some state institutions will have to stop working and many civil servants will remain unpaid.
The longest "shutdown" in the country's history occurred over the turn of the year 2018/2019 - during Trump's first term in the White House. Due to the dispute over the wall he had called for on the border with Mexico, parts of the government were shut down for more than five weeks.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk gets involved
In the current dispute, leading representatives of both parties presented a proposal for an interim budget on Tuesday after lengthy negotiations, which is intended to secure funding for government operations until March 14, 2025. The bill also includes a billion-dollar aid package for areas in the USA that were affected by severe hurricanes this year.
However, there had already been indications that the proposal could meet with resistance from the newly elected president - tech billionaire Elon Musk, who is supposed to help Trump cut government spending and is a close confidant of the Republican, had made his displeasure known. "Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out of office in two years," Musk wrote on his online platform X.
Trump now accused the Republicans of having made too many concessions to the Democrats. "We should pass a streamlined budget bill," he demanded.
White House warns: "A deal is a deal"
The White House, on the other hand, reminded the House that agreements between the parties must be honored. "A deal is a deal", said Biden's spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre. "The Republicans should keep their word." Anyone who questions the agreement, which has been painstakingly worked out across party lines, is harming "hard-working Americans" and the stability of the country.
Trump calls for the debt ceiling to be raised
In an unusual move for his party, Trump also called on the Republicans in parliament to negotiate an increase in the debt ceiling now instead of waiting until after he takes office. This is "not a good thing, but we would rather do it under Biden's leadership", the statement said. The debt ceiling actually has nothing to do with the current budget negotiations.
The debt ceiling defines the maximum amount of government debt that can be raised to finance current spending such as salaries, social benefits, defense spending or interest on existing debt. If this ceiling is reached and not increased, the US government may not take on any new debt.
Negotiations always a nail-biter
The discussion about the debt ceiling regularly leads to political conflicts between Republicans and Democrats, as it is often used as a pressure tool for other political goals.
The Republicans are usually reluctant to raise it. A year and a half ago, they drove Biden on for weeks with their resistance. The USA was threatened with default. An agreement with the Democrats was only reached shortly before the deadline. Trump's aim is now likely to be to prevent a similar situation during his presidency by raising the debt ceiling ahead of schedule.