President-elect Donald Trump delivered a likely death blow to bipartisan congressional budget negotiations, rejecting the measure as full of giveaways to Democrats after billionaire ally Elon Musk whipped up outrage toward the bill and cheered on Republican lawmakers who announced their opposition.
Trump’s joint statement Wednesday with Vice President-elect JD Vance stopped the bill in its tracks and punctuated a torrent of social media posts by Musk attacking the legislation for what he described as excessive spending.
“Stop the steal of your tax dollars!” Musk wrote on his social media platform X as he dangled primary challenges against anyone who voted for the budget deal, a threat Trump later echoed in a post of his own.
The episode showcased the growing political influence of Musk, whom Trump has selected alongside entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to spearhead the Department of Government Efficiency, a nongovernmental task force formed to find ways to fire federal workers, cut programs and reduce regulations.
In his statement with Vance, Trump said Republicans should restart negotiations over the legislation, arguing that “anything else is a betrayal of our country.” He also called for including an extension of the debt ceiling while President Joe Biden is in office.
“Increasing the debt ceiling is not great but we’d rather do it on Biden’s watch,” they said. “If Democrats won’t cooperate on a debt ceiling increase now, what makes anyone think they would do it in June during our administration? Let’s have this debate over the debt ceiling now.”
Trump’s opposition to what was considered must-pass legislation reinjected a sense of uncertainty and political brinkmanship that was reminiscent of his first term in office. 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 reelection for his post in just a couple of weeks. Republicans have a slim majority, raising the possibility of a replay of leadership disputes that paralyzed the House a year ago.
