Shutdown threat: Trump and Musk break off vote on temporary budget plan
Trump and Musk disrupted the vote on the temporary budget (photo: Getty Images)
President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance have launched a campaign against a stopgap budget for the government. This is also supported by businessman Elon Musk, inform The Hill and Politico.
A temporary budget bill was proposed by House Speaker Mike Johnson. It was supposed to provide funding for the government until mid-March 2025.
Currently, it is reported that the bill is at risk of being left without support, which could lead to a shutdown as early as this Saturday, December 21.
Billionaire Elon Musk may play a key role in disrupting the negotiations, as Politico reports that he has been actively encouraging Republicans to oppose the bill through the social network X.
In particular, Musk spread disinformation, claiming that the document provides for
- a 40% increase in congressional salaries (in fact, a maximum of 3.8%)
- financing of a new stadium for the NFL in Washington, D.C., at the expense of the federal budget (but it was only about the transfer of land to local authorities);
- funding for biological weapons laboratories (in reality, it was about researching biomedical threats).
Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders reacted sharply to Musk's actions.
"The US Congress this week came to an agreement to fund our government. Elon Musk, who became $200 BILLION richer since Trump was elected, objected. Are Republicans beholden to the American people? Or President Musk? This is oligarchy at work," he wrote on X (Twitter).
He also added that billionaires should not be allowed to run the American government.
At the same time, Musk continued to campaign against the bill, urging voters not to support congressmen who would vote in favor.
At the same time, in their statement, Trump and Vance called the bill a “betrayal,” urging Republicans to approve “clean” funding without additional provisions.
They also emphasized the need to raise the debt ceiling along with budgetary funding to avoid negotiations on this topic as early as June 2025.
A shutdown is a situation where part of the US government is forced to stop working due to the lack of an approved budget.
This year, there was already a threat. Read more in RBC-Ukraine's article.
The last time the US Congress managed to reach an agreement on temporary funding was in September this year.
