Trump brings chaos back to Washington by trying to derail budget deal with Musk’s support – AP

US President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday dealt a likely death blow to bipartisan budget talks in Congress, dismissing the measure as full of giveaways to Democrats after his billionaire ally Elon Musk stoked outrage over the bill and emboldened Republican lawmakers who announced their opposition, writes UNN with reference to AP.

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Trump’s joint statement with U.S. Vice President-elect JD Vance stalling the bill was punctuated by a flurry of social media messages in which Musk attacked the bill for what he called excessive spending.

“Stop the theft of your tax dollars!” Musk wrote on X, challenging anyone who voted for the budget deal, a threat Trump later repeated in his own post.

The episode showed the growing political influence of Musk, who Trump has tapped along with entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to head the Department of Government Efficiency, a nongovernmental organization formed to find ways to lay off federal employees, cut programs and loosen regulations.

AP reports that President-elect Donald Trump has scuttled a deal to keep the government funded days before the shutdown deadline.

Rep. Andy Barr, a Republican, said his office has been inundated with calls from constituents. “My phone was ringing off the hook,” he said. “The people who elected us are listening to Elon Musk.”

In a statement with Vance, Trump said Republicans should resume negotiations on the legislation, saying “anything else is a betrayal of our country.” He also called for an extension of the debt ceiling while President Joe Biden is in office.

“Raising the debt ceiling is not good, but we’d rather do it under Biden,” they said. “If the Democrats won’t cooperate on raising the national debt ceiling now, what makes anyone think they will in June under our administration? Let’s have a debate.” regarding the national debt ceiling now”.

Trump’s opposition to the bill, which was considered mandatory, has reignited the sense of chaos and political teetering on the brink reminiscent of his first term in office. It was a dramatic turn of events for House Speaker Mike Johnson, who negotiated the bill and had his efforts undermined by Trump as he faces re-election in just weeks. Republicans hold a slim majority, raising the possibility of a repeat of the leadership disputes that paralyzed the House a year ago.

Many lawmakers were in the midst of year-end celebrations when Trump opposed the bill.

The Biden administration has criticized the possibility of a shutdown.

“Republicans need to stop playing politics with this bipartisan deal or they will hurt hard-working Americans and create instability across the country,” said White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre.

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