Congress in disarray and shutdown looms as Trump, Musk slam spending deal

The situation in the US government is becoming quite serious as a potential shutdown looms. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is currently defending a massive 1,500-page stopgap bill that is crucial for keeping the government running. President Donald Trump has urged Republican lawmakers to reject this bipartisan funding bill, calling for a more streamlined version instead. Trump's comments came after tech billionaire Elon Musk expressed his strong disapproval of the bill. Congressman Steve Scalise, who is the Republican House Majority Leader, indicated on Wednesday night that the bill might be dead following Trump's criticism. The short-term funding bill must be passed by Congress by the end of the week to avoid many federal government offices from closing as early as Saturday. This bill, known as a continuing resolution, is necessary because Congress failed to pass a budget for the 2025 fiscal year, which began on October 1. If Congress does not take action, essential services, including the National Parks Service and Border Patrol, will begin to shut down this weekend. Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to threaten to support the removal of 'any Republican that would be so stupid as to' vote in favor of the current version of the bill, which was introduced by House and Senate leaders on Tuesday. He stated, 'If Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, then CALL THEIR BLUFF. ' Additionally, in a joint statement with incoming vice-president JD Vance, Trump called for Congress to raise the debt ceiling, which determines how much the government can borrow to pay its bills, and to limit the bill to focus solely on temporary spending and disaster relief. The 1,500-page bill includes over $110 billion in emergency disaster relief and $30 billion in aid for farmers. It also proposes the first pay raise for lawmakers since 2009, federal funds to rebuild a bridge that collapsed in Baltimore, healthcare reforms, and measures aimed at preventing hotels and live event venues from misleading advertising. Following Trump's opposition to the bill, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre issued a statement urging Republicans to stop playing politics with this bipartisan agreement, warning that they would hurt hardworking Americans and create instability across the country. She added, 'Triggering a damaging government shutdown would hurt families. ' When asked by CNN on Wednesday night whether the existing deal had officially been scrapped, Congressman Scalise confirmed, 'Yes. ' He further stated that 'there is no new agreement right now' and that 'there's still a lot of negotiations and conversations going on. ' It remains unclear how Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson plans to move forward. Musk, who has been tasked by Trump with cutting government spending in his future administration, has been actively lobbying against the current deal. On Wednesday night, Musk posted on X, stating, 'Your elected representatives have heard you and now the terrible bill is dead. The voice of the people has triumphed. ' Over the past five decades, there have been 21 government shutdowns or partial shutdowns in the US, with the longest occurring during Trump's first term when the government was closed for 35 days.