▲ Donald Trump, President-elect
Ahead of the United States federal government’s budget deadline scheduled for the 20th, on the 18th (local time), the Democrats and Republicans agreed on a temporary budget plan. However, President-elect Donald Trump expressed his public opposition, demanding an increase in the debt ceiling, among other things.
The Democrats are opposing this move, which they see as de facto orders for a government shutdown, predicting a ‘brinkmanship’ showdown over the budget between the President-elect Trump and the Democrats.
In this scenario, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson is considering a ‘Plan B,’ which would extend the budget processing deadline to avoid a government shutdown.
President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance issued a joint statement on the afternoon of the 18th, saying, “Republicans must be wise and strong,” and “If the Democrats threaten to shut down the government because they don’t get everything they want, let them call their bluff.”
Earlier, both parties had agreed on an additional temporary budget plan (CR) to extend until March 14 next year, ahead of the existing temporary budget deadline.
This budget includes an additional $114 billion in disaster relief funds, including $29 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster relief fund and $10 billion in economic support for farmers, in addition to the existing government budget.
Also included is a provision that the federal government will cover the full cost of restoring the bridge at the port of Baltimore, which collapsed last March.
U.S. media, including Bloomberg, reported that as the provision to freeze congressional salaries was omitted from the budget plan, salaries would increase for the first time under the automatic cost-of-living adjustment rule since 2009.
Trump’s side claims that the budget plan includes provisions that block the disclosure of information in the House.
Their stance is that these are provisions aimed at preventing the Democratic-led inquiry into the activities of the Select Committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot.
Regarding this, President-elect Trump stated in a statement, “This budget plan will make it easier to hide the records of the corrupt January 6 Committee.”
He also pointed out the announcement of the increase in lawmakers’ salaries and insisted that an increase in the debt ceiling should be included in the temporary budget plan.
He commented, “The dumbest and most incompetent thing the Republican lawmakers did was to allow the United States to reach the debt ceiling in 2025,” adding, “Increasing the debt ceiling is not good, but it is better to do it during the Biden administration.”
He questioned, “If the Democrats do not cooperate on the debt ceiling issue now, do you think they will cooperate in June of next year, during the Trump administration?” He further stated, “The only way is a temporary budget plan combined with a debt ceiling increase without any ‘Democratic giveaways,’ and anything else is a betrayal of America.”
The debt ceiling is set by Congress to limit the amount of money the U.S. government can borrow.
Additionally, President-elect Trump, in a post on the social media platform Truth Social, likened the debt ceiling to a “guillotine,” writing, “Who can imagine passing a temporary budget plan without eliminating or increasing (the debt ceiling)?”
He declared, “Democrats will be fought to the end if they do not abolish or significantly increase the debt ceiling now.”
He also warned Republican lawmakers who vote for the already agreed temporary budget plan, stating they would face a primary challenger endorsed by him in the next congressional elections.
Last June, President Joe Biden and Republican Kevin McCarthy, then House Speaker, agreed to suspend the application of the debt ceiling until January 1, 2025, to avoid a default crisis triggered by the federal government’s debt ceiling. However, they agreed to increase spending within very limited boundaries until then.
Prior to this, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and newly appointed co-head of government efficiency for the next administration by Trump, also voiced opposition to the temporary budget plan.
CEO Musk stated on social media platform X, “Senators and members of the House who vote in favor of this absurd budget plan deserve to be ousted within two years.”
On the other hand, Democrats criticized Trump’s statement as a breach of agreement and orders for a government shutdown.
Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House Minority Leader, wrote on X, “House Republicans have received orders to shut down the government,” stating, “If they break the bipartisan agreement, they must bear the consequences.”
Meanwhile, Congressional specialized media outlet The Hill and others reported that House Speaker Johnson from the Republican Party is considering a ‘clean temporary budget’ as an alternative, essentially extending only the budget processing deadline by excluding disaster assistance and other items.
If Congress fails to process the temporary budget by the 20th, the U.S. media reported that a partial government shutdown could occur starting on the 21st.
During the first Trump administration, there were two government shutdowns, including one that lasted as long as 35 days.