The US Congress has two days to avert a partial government shutdown after Republican President-elect Donald Trump rejected a bipartisan deal and asked lawmakers to also raise the national debt ceiling before he takes office next month.
Trump has been pressuring his Republican colleagues in Congress to reject a temporary bill that would keep the government afloat after a deadline expires at midnight on Friday.
Absent congressional action, the US government will begin a partial shutdown on Saturday that would disrupt everything from air travel to law enforcement in the days leading up to the Christmas holiday on December 25.
The bipartisan deal reached on Tuesday would extend the funding until March 14.
Trump has warned that Republicans who vote for the current legislative package could face re-election challenges as they face primary elections within their own party.
“Any Republican who would be stupid enough to do this should, and will, be first,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
If it were to happen, it would be the first government shutdown since December 2018-19, during Trump’s first four-year term in the White House.
Trump is now calling on Congress to pass legislation to fix the problems before he takes office next month by increasing the government’s borrowing powers.
He also said lawmakers should remove elements of the deal backed by Democrats, whose support would be necessary for passage.
Trump’s comments came after his ally Elon Musk, who Trump has tapped to cut the federal budget, pressured Congress to reject the bill and said those who support it should be removed from office, Reuters reported.
