Trump opposes deal to avert gov't shutdown

WASHINGTON

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump urged Republican lawmakers Wednesday to scupper a cross-party deal to avert a fast-looming U.S. government shutdown, as the White House accused him of "playing politics."

Staring down a Friday night deadline to fund federal agencies, party leaders in Congress had agreed on a "continuing resolution" (CR) to keep the lights on until mid-March and avoid having to send public workers home without pay over Christmas.

But the compromise was pilloried by numerous Republicans — most notably tech billionaire Elon Musk, whom Trump has charged with slashing government spending in his second term.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has emerged as a major voice in U.S. politics and took to his X platform with a flurry of posts denouncing extra spending in the text that ballooned costs.

Trump holds huge sway over Republicans and his intervention makes it almost certain that the bill will fail.

Suggesting that concessions to Democrats in the text were "a betrayal of our country," Trump called in a joint statement with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance for Republicans to "get smart and tough."

Trump and Vance said they would be against any package that does not include an extension to the federal borrowing limit, which the country is on track to hit just as Republicans take total control of Congress in January.

The current federal debt is $36.2 trillion and Congress has raised the limit more than 100 times to allow the government to meet its spending commitments. The next extension was not part of the shutdown negotiations and the demand took lawmakers by surprise.

The bill includes more than $100 billion in disaster relief requested by the White House, $30 billion in aid for farmers, restrictions on investment in China and the first pay raise for lawmakers since 2009.

But the add-ons to the package sparked a rebellion in Republican ranks, meaning the leadership would have been forced to lean on Democratic votes — a tactic that got the previous House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, axed by his own side.

"Republicans need to stop playing politics with this bipartisan agreement or they will hurt hardworking Americans and create instability across the country," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

"President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect Vance ordered Republicans to shut down the government and they are threatening to do just that."