Because of Donald Trump, the USA is threatened with a budget blockade

US President-elect Donald Trump torpedoes the passage of a transition budget in Congress shortly before the deadline, thereby risking a standstill in government business. Trump called on all his Republican representatives not to agree to a legislative text that had already been negotiated with the Democrats. “Republicans need to get SMART and STRONG,” the Trump team said in a statement. He blamed the party of US President Joe Biden if there was a so-called shutdown.

In order to prevent government business from coming to a standstill on Saturday night (local time), Biden must sign the legal text by Friday at the latest. If this does not happen, some state institutions will have to stop working and many state employees will remain unpaid.

The longest shutdown in the country’s history occurred at the turn of the year 2018/2019 – during Trump’s first term in the White House. Because of the dispute over the wall he was calling for on the border with Mexico, parts of the government stood still for more than five weeks.

In the current dispute, leading representatives of both parties presented on Tuesday, after long negotiations, a proposal for an interim budget that is intended to ensure the financing of government business until March 14, 2025. Part of the law is also a billion-dollar aid package for areas in the USA that were affected by severe hurricanes this year.

However, it had already become apparent that the proposal could meet with resistance from the newly elected president – tech billionaire Elon Musk, who is supposed to help Trump cut government spending and is a close confidante of the Republican, had made his displeasure known. “Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in two years,” Musk wrote on his online platform X.

Trump now accused the Republicans of making too many concessions to the Democrats. “We should pass a streamlined budget law,” he demanded.

The White House, however, reminded that agreements between the parties must also be adhered to. “A deal is a deal,” said Biden spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre. “Republicans should keep their word.” Anyone who calls into question the agreement that was laboriously worked out across party lines would harm “hard-working Americans” and the stability of the country.

In an unusual move for his party, Trump also called on Republicans in the House to negotiate raising the debt ceiling now rather than waiting until after he takes office. That’s “not good, but we would rather do it under Biden’s responsibility,” the statement said. Actually, the debt ceiling has nothing to do with the current budget negotiations.

The debt ceiling determines the maximum amount that government debt can rise in order to finance current expenses such as salaries, social benefits, defense spending or interest on existing debt. If this cap is reached and not increased, the US government will not be allowed to take on any new debt.

The debate over the debt ceiling regularly leads to political conflicts between Republicans and Democrats because it is often used as a pressure tool for other political goals.

Republicans usually resist increases. A year and a half ago, they pushed Biden ahead of them for weeks with their resistance. The USA was threatened with default. It was only shortly before that an agreement was reached with the Democrats. Trump’s aim is now to prevent a similar situation during his presidency by raising the debt ceiling early.