As 38 Republicans voted against the stopgap deal that was championed by President-elect Donald Trump, VP-elect JD Vance and Speaker Mike Johnson replacing the 1,500-page bill that the Republican leadership disapproved of, a federal government shutdown is the most likely scenario now.
Congress now has until Friday midnight to approve a spending bill or extend the deadline in order to avert a government shutdown.
Elon Musk is being blamed for the scenario as he made non-stop posts on X rallying against the old bill. Dems called him ‘President Musk’ while some Republicans even wanted him as the Speaker.
Musk did not step back and reacted to the possibility of a govt shutdown and said Dems deserve to lose bigtime in the midterms. But it was not only Dems, 38 Republicans too rejected it. “If Dems reject this & government shuts down, they deserve to lose bigtime in the midterms,” Musk said.

What Donald Trump said on the possibility of a govt shutdown

Before the new bill was rejected, Donald Trump said: “Our country is far better off closing up for a period of time than it is agreeing to the things that the Democrats want to force upon us.”
Trump said Biden is still the president and it’s his obligation to properly lead. “Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous Debt Ceiling. Without this, we should never make a deal. Remember, the pressure is on whoever is President,” Trump said.

What will happen if the govt shuts down?

Federal funding expires on midnight December 20, today. Without a new bill, the federal government would not be able ti pay its employees which also included the military. Social security benefits, however, won’t be affected during a shutdown as that comes under mandatory spending and is not funded through bills passed by Congress. Medicare, Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy families and veterans’ benefits would also continue.
Longest govt shutdown
The longest shutdown was for 34 days from December 21, 2018 to January 25, 2019.