Democrats are using Elon Musk and his massive government slash-and-burn initiative as bargaining chips to negotiate the debt ceiling and avert a government shutdown.
NBC News reported Wednesday that the March 14 deadline to avoid a shutdown is quickly approaching. The Senate is still trying to determine whether it can pass legislation to raise the debt ceiling. Congress has the so-called "power of the purse" in the Constitution; in the past, it has been in charge of spending. President Donald Trump changed that, however, by having Musk shut off payments that had been authorized by Congress.
Democrats in the Senate have made it clear they want constraints on Trump's authority, while Republicans have refused to place any.
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“If they want our votes, they need to work with us,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “We are close on top-line spending. We need to know Republicans are willing to work with us to protect Congress’ power of the purse — and I welcome any and all ideas they may have on how we can work together to do just that.
“That is the absolute bare minimum, and it is frankly not asking a whole lot. Republicans should not be so eager to let Elon Musk cut off cancer research or clean energy jobs in their districts. They should not follow Elon towards a shutdown,” she also said.
However, to Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), the House Appropriations Committee chair, Trump's budget control is a red line.
“We’re close on the numbers. We’re pretty far apart still on trying to limit presidential powers,” he told reporters. “I don’t think you’re likely to see a Republican House and Republican Senate try to limit a Republican president.
“There’s not much middle ground there. You either have it or not,” Cole said. “The president has to sign it, so it can’t be something that he decides he doesn’t want to sign.”
Back home, however, Cole's state is facing possible cuts to Tinker Air Force Base and hefty funding losses in the agriculture and aerospace industries. The jobs and funding cuts come from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a Trump-invented initiative that aims to cut trillions from federal spending. Trump indicated that billionaire Elon Musk was in charge of the effort.
In the Senate, NBC News explained that to continue to fund the government, Republicans will need Democratic support.
"Numerous congressional Democrats and some legal scholars argue Trump’s attempts to unilaterally remake the federal government represent a constitutional crisis as Trump and Musk say it’s about rooting out waste. While Democrats insist they’re willing to compromise on funding, many of them see little value in signing off on a deal — a full appropriations deal or a stopgap bill — if Trump is empowered to ignore the parts he doesn’t like," the report continued.