'Nasty trap': Trump and Musk oppose stopgap bill, US govt shutdown looms

The stopgap spending measure, designed to extend government funding until March 14, met resistance from President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk

Efforts to pass a stopgap spending measure in the United States to prevent a government shutdown have collapsed, with House Speaker Mike Johnson withdrawing the bill after facing strong opposition within his party, US media reports said on Thursday morning. The bill, designed to extend government funding until March 14, met resistance from high-profile Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump, who criticised the additional spending provisions, calling it a “nasty trap”. Elon Musk has also spoken out against the bill, saying that it should not be passed until Trump took office on January 20.  Read more about the stopgap bill here.

 

Controversial spending provisions

The proposed measure included $110 billion in disaster relief, health care policy extensions, and a pay raise for members of Congress, among other items. These additions triggered backlash from fiscal conservatives. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise confirmed that the bill is effectively “dead”, leaving Congress with no clear path forward to avert a shutdown before the Friday deadline.

 

In a joint statement, Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance asked Congress to “pass a streamlined spending bill that doesn’t give [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer and the Democrats everything they want.”

 

Trump calls Bill a ‘nasty trap’

President-elect Trump led the charge against the measure, labelling it a “nasty trap” orchestrated by Democrats. He issued a stern warning to Republican lawmakers, urging them to reject the bill and threatening primary challenges against those who supported it.

 

“Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH,” Trump and JD Vance said, accusing Democrats of leveraging the threat of a shutdown to secure their spending priorities. He argued that Congress should instead pass a streamlined funding bill devoid of additional provisions.

 

Taking to his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump went on to threaten Republicans against favouring the bill. He wrote, “This is a nasty TRAP set in place by the Radical Left Democrats! They are looking to embarrass us in June when [the debt limit] comes up for a vote. The people that extended it, from September 28th to June 1st, should be ashamed of themselves.”

 

“Any Republican that would be so stupid as to do this should, and will, be Primaried," he said.

 

‘This bill should not pass’: Elon Musk

Elon Musk, an influential Republican ally, echoed Trump’s sentiments, using his platform on X (formerly Twitter) to mobilise opposition. Musk urged his 200 million followers to contact their representatives and denounce the bill, claiming it was being rushed through Congress “while no one is paying attention.”

 

“No bills should be passed by Congress until Jan 20, when Donald Trump takes office,” Musk declared, warning lawmakers that voting in favour of the measure could cost them re-election.

 

Musk said, "This bill should not pass... any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!”

 

Divide in Republican party over stopgap bill

Despite Johnson’s earlier assurances that the stopgap measure would ‘clear the decks’ for broader GOP-led spending negotiations in March, the proposal failed to garner support from prominent Republicans, including Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, another co-head of the Trump-aligned GOP coalition.

 

The bill’s demise highlights deep divisions within the Republican Party over fiscal policy and spending priorities, even as it prepares to take control of both congressional chambers in January.

 

The collapse of the funding measure sets the stage for another budget showdown early in Trump’s second term, as Republicans seek to implement his key policy goals during his first 100 days in office. With several seats vacant due to members joining the Trump administration, the GOP’s narrow majority in the House may face additional hurdles in passing legislation.

 

In the meantime, the threat of a government shutdown looms large, with federal operations potentially grinding to a halt if lawmakers fail to agree on a funding plan before the Friday deadline.