Trump opposes funding bill, pushing government closer to a shutdown
President-elect Donald Trump opposes a short-term bill or CR to fund the government and avoid a shutdown, throwing Congress into chaos days before the deadline.
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump excoriated a bipartisan government funding bill Wednesday afternoon, throwing the stopgap measure into chaos just as leaders of both parties were hoping to pass it.
The joint statement by Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance left Republican leaders scrambling to come up with a new plan in the House, where Trump wields significant influence. A top GOP lawmaker later said the bill text, released just a day earlier, had been scrapped.
The bill would have kept the government open until March 14. A shutdown will occur at 12:01 a.m. Saturday without action from Congress. There is currently no fallback plan.
“Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH. If Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, then CALL THEIR BLUFF,” Trump and Vance said. “It is [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer and [President Joe] Biden who are holding up aid to our farmers and disaster relief.”
In a shocking twist, Trump also demanded that the legislation include a debt ceiling increase, which neither party had even been considering. It’s expected to come up in the middle of next year, and Trump made it clear he wanted it to happen on Biden’s watch.
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