Trump’s Stop-Gap Funding Power Play a Wake Up Call for Both Parties

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There was no legislative reason for Trump to oppose the stop-gap funding bill hammered out in sort of a bipartisan manner by both chambers of Congress. It had too much disaster relief with no way to pay for it, a generous farm bill for red state lawmakers, and incredibly, a pay increase for lawmakers.

Donald Trump and Elon Musk swatted it away with ease.

The funding bill was worse than many of the Continuing Resolutions” passed by Congress in recent years. It’s efficacy was not the issue, however. Neither were most of its provisions.

The issue was Trump using his enormous influence to signal that things on the Hill were not going to be the way they have been. And both parties better get used to it.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is now in constant discussions with several members of Trump’s team, including vice-president-elect J.D. Vance, to hammer out a new funding package. To avoid a partial shutdown of the government, they have less than two days to strike a deal acceptable to both parties. 

The parameters of the new funding bill include less disaster relief, a one-year extension of the farm bill, and an increase in the debt limit for two years. Trump obviously doesn’t want to deal with the debt limit until much of his agenda has been passed.

“No bills should be passed [by] Congress until Jan 20, when @realDonaldTrump takes office. None. Zero,” Musk posted on X. 

Whether that comes from Trump or not is not the point. It certainly sends the signal that business as usual is not acceptable any longer and those who recognize it will thrive. Those who resist will fall.

Associated Press:

The president-elect made an almost unrealistic proposal that combined some continuation of government funds along with a much more controversial provision to raise the nation’s debt limit — something his own party routinely rejects. “Anything else is a betrayal of our country,” they wrote.

Democrats decried the GOP revolt over the stopgap measure, which would have also provided some $100.4 billion in disaster aid to states hammered by Hurricanes Helene and Milton and other natural disasters.

“House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government and hurt everyday Americans all across this country,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

The original stop-gap funding bill actually contained pay raises for members of Congress. They were the first increases in more than a decade, and considering the national debt has increased by more than $14 trillion during that span, we can legitimately ask how they have the gall to think they deserve it?

Some Republicans haven’t gotten the message.

“This is supposed to be a CR that extends the status quo. And it’s supposed to be lean and mean,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said. “Well, I mean, it may have been mean, but it wasn’t lean. And what I think we’re going to have to do to get it passed is go back to a real CR, which is just an extension of the status quo.”

The whole point of this exercise is to detonate the status quo. Trump has decided to get a head start and begin the process of nuking the status quo early. 

If that means partially shutting down the government, so be it.