Trump and Musk send DC into tailspin with attacks on spending bills as government shutdown approaches: live updates

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Donald Trump and JD Vance appear to have guaranteed a bitter showdown with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill after demanding that the House and Senate effectively force the federal government to shut down, rather than pass a stopgap funding bill championed by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson. .

Johnson's bipartisan deal would have allowed agencies to operate at current funding levels until mid-March 2025, but the president-elect and his deputy issued a statement lamenting that the bill did not meet the statutory cap of the country's debt, calling for adoption of a simplified alternative version that doesn't give Democrats everything they want.

Meanwhile, Democrats have mocked tech billionaire Elon Musk's undue influence on the new administration, with Senator Bernie Sanders wryly praising President Elon Musk over X.

While Trump told Fox News Digital that Johnson would easily remain president, he added a caveat reiterating his previous statement. Among the names being floated as potential replacements for Johnson is Musk, with Sen. Rand Paul noting that the role is not limited to members of Congress.

Meanwhile, Fulton County Prosecutor Fani Willis was removed from Trump's sprawling election interference case by the Georgia Court of Appeals, which ruled that her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade was a conflict of interest.

Vibe check: Republican negotiations on the CR

Oliver O'ConnellDecember 19, 2024 5:35 p.m.

Senator Chris Murphy says Trump's plans to undermine democracy have already begun

Oliver O'ConnellDecember 19, 2024 5:30 p.m.

Trump is adamant on the future of debt ceilings and CR resolution under the Biden administration

Donald Trump is adamant about his stance on the future of the debt ceiling and how the pending spending resolution deal will be resolved. In his latest interview today, one of several interviews he's given so far to Robert Costa on CBS News, here's what he tweeted shortly after:

President-elect Trump is unwavering in his stance on the budget and budget impasse on Capitol Hill.

In a phone conversation, he told me: “First, the debt ceiling should be removed entirely. Number two, a lot of different things they thought they'd get [in the recently proposed spending deal] will now be 100 percent discarded. Well, see what happens. Well, let's see if we have a shutdown under the Biden administration. But if it is going to happen, it will happen under Biden, not Trump.

Trump has long criticized the debt ceiling. And several of his allies tell me he has urged Republicans to address this issue before taking office next year so they can focus on key agenda items rather than getting bogged down in discussions on the debt ceiling next spring/summer.

Oliver O'ConnellDecember 19, 2024 5:25 p.m.

GOP lawmakers appear exasperated over spending bill drama ahead of new Trump admin

Oliver O'ConnellDecember 19, 2024 5:15 p.m.

Gaetz seems excited about the prospect of Musk's presidency

Oliver O'ConnellDecember 19, 2024 5:05 p.m.

Trump supports Johnson despite calls for his ouster following shutdown debacle

President-elect Donald Trump is not joining calls from some in his party to replace House Speaker Mike Johnson at the start of the next Congress, after the Louisiana Republican failed to reach a bipartisan deal to avoid a shutdown government, apparently on the orders of the richest man in the world, Elon. Musk.

Johnson won the gavel last October after a long fight following the ouster of former President Kevin McCarthy, an event sparked by McCarthy's decision to allow a vote to fund the government on a bipartisan basis rather than force closure until passage of a party bill. more acceptable to die-hard conservatives.

Andrew Feinberg reports from Washington, D.C.

Oliver O'ConnellDecember 19, 2024 5:00 p.m.

Which House GOP leaders are gathering in the speakers' suite about CR?

Oliver O'ConnellDecember 19, 2024 4:55 p.m.

Trump thinks any shutdown will be associated with Biden, pushes for action on debt ceiling

Despite personally intervening last night to undermine the negotiated continuing resolution to keep the government open, Donald Trump appears to believe that if nothing is agreed to by Friday midnight and the government shuts down, people will blame Joe Biden…

ABC's Jonathan Karl is the latest reporter to speak with the president-elect today. Here's what he posted on X earlier:

In a conversation a few minutes ago, @realDonaldTrump told me, “Nothing will be approved until the debt ceiling is removed. »

He wants the debt ceiling to be removed or extended.

“If we don't succeed, we will have a shutdown, but it will be a Biden shutdown, because shutdowns only affect the person who is president.”

Given the narrative by Democrats and Republicans that Elon Musk and Trump were behind the scrapping of the CR bill, it seems unlikely that any subsequent shutdown would be blamed on someone other than them.

However, we live in strange times.

Here is Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries:

Oliver O'ConnellDecember 19, 2024 4:42 p.m.

Amid row over spending deals, Democrats denounce President Elon Musk's influence on Trump

Johnson's Interim Resolution (CR) would have funded the government at current funding levels until mid-March 2025, but intervention by the president-elect and his deputies now appears to have reduced its chances of being passed in its original form. current before Friday's deadline. , sparking chaos on Capitol Hill.

Joe Sommerlad has the details.

Oliver O'ConnellDecember 19, 2024 4:30 p.m.

What to watch: The losers of the shutdown will be the American people, says Rep. Brad Sherman

California Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman says, “I don't know who will win this shutdown, but I know who loses and it's the American people.

He adds: We know who caused it. We had an agreement. We negotiated a deal. And then Musk decided to change the situation. Should I call him President Musk?

Oliver O'ConnellDecember 19, 2024 4:07 p.m.

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