Trump and Musk derail U.S. government funding deal, threatening shutdown

A month before his second term officially begins, Donald Trump has already upended the delicate machinery of Washington. On Wednesday evening, House Speaker Mike Johnson had negotiated what he believed was a workable compromise—a spending bill that would keep the government funded through the new year and spare everyone the political pain of a shutdown during the holidays. By Thursday morning, that deal was in ruins.

The sabotage came swiftly and from multiple angles. Elon Musk, who owns the social media platform X, began posting a barrage of messages attacking Johnson's agreement. The billionaire, whom Trump has tasked with leading a new Department of Government Efficiency, objected to the spending levels in the bill. He called for a government shutdown if Republicans couldn't secure better terms. Johnson had actually texted with Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, another Trump ally, about the package beforehand. He tried to explain the political reality: he needed Democratic votes to pass anything. The message didn't land.

Then Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance delivered the decisive blow. In a joint post, they attacked the proposal and demanded a new approach—one that would include raising the debt ceiling, an issue lawmakers had hoped to avoid until next year. Trump followed up by threatening to actively oppose the reelection of any Republican who voted for Johnson's bill. To NBC News, Trump declared that abolishing the debt ceiling entirely would be "the smartest" thing Congress could do. "I support it totally," he said.

The spending bill itself contained more than one hundred billion dollars in disaster relief and included a pay raise for lawmakers—the latter detail particularly inflaming Musk, whose entire mandate is to slash government spending. What was supposed to be a relatively routine pre-holiday vote had become a political minefield. Neither the incoming Republican majority nor the Democrats currently controlling the Senate and White House had wanted a confrontation before the break. Now they had one.

Johnson's position has become precarious. His speakership, which he has held since October 2023, depends on Republican votes he can barely afford to lose. Some Republicans, including Utah Senator Mike Lee, have even suggested that Musk himself become Speaker—a proposal that would require changing a rule that has held throughout American history, since the Speaker has always been an elected member of the House. On Thursday morning, Trump told Fox News that Johnson could "easily" remain Speaker if he "acts decisively and with toughness" to eliminate what Trump called Democratic "traps."

The clock is ticking. Government funding expires Friday night. The new Congress convenes on January 3 and must elect a Speaker, a vote that requires a majority of members present. Johnson cannot afford to lose many Republican votes. The White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, issued a statement warning that a shutdown would harm families during the holidays and endanger essential services that veterans and Social Security beneficiaries depend on. She added: "A deal is a deal. Republicans should keep their word."

This is not Trump's first shutdown gambit. Nearly six years ago, he demanded funding for a border wall in another temporary spending bill, triggering the longest government shutdown in American history—thirty-five days. He eventually relented and reopened the government without securing the wall money. Now, with the debt ceiling suddenly on the table and Johnson's leadership hanging by a thread, the question is whether this confrontation will end differently, or whether Washington is about to experience another extended closure, this time during the transition between administrations.