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WaPo: How Trump and Musk set off the shutdown crisis -- but got little in return
WaPo - (archived: https://archive.ph/ifYkV ) How Trump and Musk set off the shutdown crisis — but got little in return
The past week provides a preview of what spending battles could be like in a closely divided Congress and with warring GOP factions
By Isaac Arnsdorf, Marianna Sotomayor, Marianne LeVine and Liz Goodwin
December 21, 2024 at 5:58 p.m. EST
Some time after Donald Trump won the Nov. 5 election, he told House Speaker Mike Johnson that he wanted the federal debt limit taken care of before he took office, according to people close to both leaders. That’s all they agree on.
After that, the accounts diverge. Multiple House Republican lawmakers said the president-elect mentioned eliminating the debt ceiling casually and in passing, and that he understood Johnson’s explanation that the proposal didn’t have the votes to pass. Hill Republicans broadly agreed that no one got the impression Trump was repeatedly and clearly demanding that they raise the debt ceiling before Christmas. His sudden red line Wednesday reverberated across the Capitol, shocking House and Senate Republicans.
Advisers to Trump, though, said he had made his position clear to Johnson for weeks or even a month — long before going public Wednesday with the demand that upended the lame-duck congressional session and brought the government to the brink of shutting down.
The last-minute scramble recalled several episodes from Trump’s first term where he blew up, or nearly blew up, must-pass bills at the last minute. This time around, Trump did not get his way on the debt limit — even as his allies claimed victory — while Johnson averted a shutdown but rankled many Republicans whose support he’ll need to keep his gavel with the slimmest of majorities. The fallout is poised to carry over into next year as Trump seeks a bargain with GOP hard-liners to get rid of the debt ceiling in exchange for spending cuts.
“Get ready for Trump time,” Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pennsylvania) said Thursday, then referring to Johnson: “Mistakes were made. There wasn’t enough communication or enough specific communication. What happened yesterday shouldn’t have happened.”
/snip
The past week provides a preview of what spending battles could be like in a closely divided Congress and with warring GOP factions
By Isaac Arnsdorf, Marianna Sotomayor, Marianne LeVine and Liz Goodwin
December 21, 2024 at 5:58 p.m. EST
Some time after Donald Trump won the Nov. 5 election, he told House Speaker Mike Johnson that he wanted the federal debt limit taken care of before he took office, according to people close to both leaders. That’s all they agree on.
After that, the accounts diverge. Multiple House Republican lawmakers said the president-elect mentioned eliminating the debt ceiling casually and in passing, and that he understood Johnson’s explanation that the proposal didn’t have the votes to pass. Hill Republicans broadly agreed that no one got the impression Trump was repeatedly and clearly demanding that they raise the debt ceiling before Christmas. His sudden red line Wednesday reverberated across the Capitol, shocking House and Senate Republicans.
Advisers to Trump, though, said he had made his position clear to Johnson for weeks or even a month — long before going public Wednesday with the demand that upended the lame-duck congressional session and brought the government to the brink of shutting down.
The last-minute scramble recalled several episodes from Trump’s first term where he blew up, or nearly blew up, must-pass bills at the last minute. This time around, Trump did not get his way on the debt limit — even as his allies claimed victory — while Johnson averted a shutdown but rankled many Republicans whose support he’ll need to keep his gavel with the slimmest of majorities. The fallout is poised to carry over into next year as Trump seeks a bargain with GOP hard-liners to get rid of the debt ceiling in exchange for spending cuts.
“Get ready for Trump time,” Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pennsylvania) said Thursday, then referring to Johnson: “Mistakes were made. There wasn’t enough communication or enough specific communication. What happened yesterday shouldn’t have happened.”
/snip