Congress narrowly avoided a government shutdown by passing a temporary funding bill, but the chaotic week highlighted the influence of Donald Trump and Elon Musk in the coming political landscape.
Congress approved a last-minute bill to temporarily fund the government and billions in disaster and farm aid early Saturday, avoiding a shutdown that would have sent millions of employees — and members of the military — into the holiday season without paychecks.President Biden signed the bill into law late Saturday morning.
But the chaos that unfolded in Congress this week, largely stoked by President-elect Donald Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk, reminded lawmakers of what’s to come in Trump’s second term: Trump's not fearful of shutdowns the way lawmakers are, and Musk is quickly ascending as a political force. The 118-page package funds the government at current levels through March 14 and adds $100 billion in disaster aid and $10 billion in agricultural assistance to farmers.It’s essentially the same deal that flopped the night before in a spectacular setback — opposed by most Democrats and some of the most conservative Republicans — minus Trump’s debt ceiling demand. It's far smaller than the original bipartisan accord Speaker Mike Johnson struck with Democratic and Republican leaders — a 1,500-page bill that Trump and Musk rejected, forcing him to start over. It was stuffed with a long list of other bills — including much-derided pay raises for lawmakers — but also other measures with broad bipartisan support that now have a tougher path to becoming law. Gone is Trump’s demand to lift the debt ceiling, which GOP leaders told lawmakers would be debated as part of their tax and border packages in the new year. Republicans made a so-called handshake agreement to raise the debt limit at that time while also cutting $2.5 trillion in spending over 10 year
Government Shutdown Funding Bill Donald Trump Elon Musk Politics
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