Hours before the deadline that would lead to a partial government shutdown, President-elect Donald Trump insisted on Friday that his demand for an increase in the debt ceiling be part of any budget deal. If this does not happen, he warned, “let the shutdown begin now.”
Trump, who will officially take office on January 20, 2025, made his stance known while House Speaker Mike Johnson was holding talks at the Capitol with some of the more conservative Republicans, who played a role in the failure of a bill supported by Trump.
The deadlines for a government shutdown were quickly approaching, with midnight on Friday fast approaching.
“If there’s going to be a government shutdown, let it start now,” Trump wrote on social media.
Trump himself was responsible for the longest government shutdown in history during his first term in the White House, when the government was partially shut down for a month starting in late December 2018, lasting until mid-January 2019.
The main request of the president-elect is the increase of the debt ceiling before he officially takes office.
The federal debt limit expires on January 1, and Trump does not want the early months of his new administration to be burdened with difficult negotiations in Congress regarding the country’s borrowing capacity.
This situation creates an advantage for the Democrats, who will be in the minority in Congress next year.
Speaker Mike Johnson is racing against time behind closed doors to prevent a government shutdown, but his influence is limited.
Trump and his ally, billionaire Elon Musk, opposed the initial plan put forward by Johnson, which was the result of a bipartisan compromise, including $100 billion in aid for states severely affected by natural disasters. The bipartisan bill did not address the debt ceiling issue.
After pressure from the president-elect, Johnson negotiated a new legislative package that was supported by Trump.
However, the new bill, which included raising the debt ceiling until 2027, failed in Congress. Thirty-eight hardline Republicans voted against it, as well as all Democrats except three.
On Friday morning, Vice President-elect JD Vance visited the office of the Speaker of the House at the Capitol, where a group of hardline Republicans was meeting with Johnson. The latter has insisted on finding a solution to the situation.
Government employees have been advised to prepare for a partial government shutdown.
“Welcome again to the MAGA swamp,” wrote House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in a social media post.
“This is why our country is on the brink of a government shutdown, which will harm the economy, hurt working-class Americans, and likely become the longest shutdown in the country’s history.”
In the Senate, which will remain under Democratic control for a few more weeks, talks are underway with the goal of reaching an agreement on the original package, the result of a compromise between Johnson, Jeffries, and Senate leaders, negotiated earlier this week. This would be difficult, but not impossible.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, called the original deal “the quickest, easiest, and most straightforward way to ensure the government stays open while providing vital and urgent assistance to the American people.”
President Joe Biden, who is in the final weeks of his term, has not commented on the matter, which has sparked criticism from Trump and Republicans, who are trying to blame him for a possible government shutdown.
Johnson faces a tough task; not only is he aiming to avoid a government shutdown, but he is also trying to save his own job.
The election of the Speaker of the House will be the first vote held in the new Congress, which convenes on January 3, and Johnson will need the support of nearly every Republican to retain the position. Democrats will vote for Jeffries.
