President-elect Donald TrumpAfter House Speaker Mike Johnson rejected a plan to avert a government shutdown, he worked the phones on Thursday, saying his confidence in Johnson is hidden and that he is joining billionaire Elon Musk, who has previously issued numerous calls to kill the GOP-brokered spending deal.
“If the speaker acts decisively and hard, and if he removes all the traps that the Democrats are setting, which will destroy our country financially and in other ways, he will easily continue to be the speaker.” Trump told Fox News Digital.
In a separate interview, Trump suggested Johnson’s proposed continuing resolution — which would keep spending at current levels — was “unacceptable.”
“We’ll see. What they had yesterday was unacceptable.” Trump told NBC News. “In many ways it was unacceptable. It’s a Democrat trap.”
Trump also stated that he discussed his views on the bill with the social media giant Musk and gave the billionaire permission to trash the government spending bill on his social media platform.
“I told him if he agrees with me, he can make a statement,” Trump said.
President-elect Donald Trump, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Vice President-elect JD Vance attend the 125th Army-Navy football game at Northwestern Stadium on December 14, 2024 in Landover, Maryland.
Stephanie Scarbrough/AP
Musk ran an all-out pressure campaign overflowing with his platform, threatening members of Congress to block Johnson’s government funding bill.
“Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” Musk wrote.
Musk also asked his more than 200 million followers to call their representatives and ask them to block the bill. “Please call your elected officials right away to tell them how you feel! They are trying to get this passed today while no one is paying attention.”
Trump’s statement opposing the measure came hours after Musk posted his thoughts on his social media platform.
Trump also argued against the bill and threatened early Republicans who voted to pass it.
“If Republicans try to pass a clean Continuing Resolution without the Democratic ‘bells and whistles’ that would be so destructive to our Country, all they will do, starting January 20th, is usher the Debt Limit mess into the Trump Administration,” Trump said in a message on Wednesday.
“Any Republican who would be foolish enough to do this should be, and will be, in the Primary. Everything should be done, and fully negotiated, before I take office on January 20, 2025.”
The next day, Trump shared a similar sentiment with Fox News Digital, saying, “Anyone who supports a bill that doesn’t take care of the quicksand for the Democrats known as the debt ceiling should prioritize and get rid of it as soon as possible.”
ABC News’ Soorin Kim and Will Steakin contributed to this report.
