Trump Brags About Popularity After Blowing Up GOP Budget Bill: ‘EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE MY FRIEND’
Donald Trump is feeling good about his renewed influence over Congress.
The president-elect posted to Truth Social on Thursday that “EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE MY FRIEND” after he and Elon Musk pressured Republicans to kill a budget bill that would have averted a government shutdown ahead of a Friday deadline.
Trump told GOP lawmakers that they would “be primaried” and “disposed” of if they didn’t blow up the bill, which had over $100 billion earmarked for disaster aide, raises for lawmakers, assistance to U.S. farmers, and much more.
Musk, who has enjoyed an increasingly influential role in GOP politics, repeatedly shared his disgust with the wide scope of the stopgap budget, which totaled 1,547 pages. He celebrated the bill’s failure by writing that “the voice of the people was heard” and that Wednesday “was a good day for America.”
The voice of the people was heard.
This was a good day for America. https://t.co/r8K4AcbDYf— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2024
One Republican admitted that it was Trump and Musk’s pressure campaign that convinced them to scrap the bill, which those in Trump’s circle complained had been stuffed with unrelated policy riders by Democrats in last-minute negotiations.
“The phone was ringing off the hook today,” said Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr on Wednesday. “And you know why? Because they were reading the tweets.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson is now scrambling to find a new path to avoid a federal shutdown before the holidays. If he’s unable to, the shutdown could make for a hellish travel experience for millions of Americans as TSA employees would be forced to work without pay—something that’s led to a flux of call outs and air travel disruptions in previous shutdowns.
Top Democrats have attacked Republicans for killing the bi-partisan budget measure, which was agreed upon Tuesday. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries suggested Democrats would oppose a new budget that strays from the compromise they already reached on Tuesday.
“House Republicans will now own any harm that is visited upon the American people that results from a government shutdown or worse,” he added.
Some MAGA lawmakers aren’t concerned about a possible shutdown, however.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said the “government can shut down” until after Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20 “as far as I’m concerned.” Reps Tim Burchett and Nancy Mace also said they’d also favor a shutdown until Trump returns to the White House.
Greene, who has infamously opposed Johnson’s leadership in the past, used this week’s budget fiasco to renew calls for the Louisiana lawmaker to lose his position leading House Republicans.
“WE MUST STAND FIRM WITH THE AMERICAN PEOPLE TO STOP THE MADNESS!!” she wrote on X. “No matter what. Even if we have to elect new leadership.”
Trump issued an assurance to Johnson on Thursday morning that his job is safe—so long as he does as he’s ordered.
“If the speaker acts decisively, and tough, and gets rid of all of the traps being set by the Democrats, which will economically and, in other ways, destroy our country, he will easily remain speaker,” Trump told Fox News Digital.
The next speaker vote will be on Jan. 3. Sources told Fox that Reps. Jim Jordan and Byron Donalds have been floated as potential alternatives to Johnson should Trump—and perhaps Musk—want to push for a change.
