Donald Trump, president-elect of the United States, accused the deputies and senators of his party who had reached an agreement to avoid it shutdown of the American federal government with the Democrats of having “betrayed the nation”. In this way the Republican leader scuttled the agreement, preventing Biden from raising the American debt ceiling.
The first to attack the law that allowed the government to continue spending money on non-essential systems (including schools) was Elon Musk, South African entrepreneur, very close collaborator of Trump and his future minister. The US is heading towards a shutdown on the night of Friday the 20th.
Trump scuttles the agreement, US heads for shutdown
On the advice of Elon Musk, Donald Trump he rejected the agreement that the Republican deputies and senators had reached with the Democrats in Congress to raise the ceiling on American federal state spending. Every year, in the USA, parliament must authorize the government to spend public money even on services considered non-essential.
At the moment, therefore, Joe Biden and his outgoing administration find themselves without Appropriation bills, the laws that allow the federal government to finance public administration. On December 20, if a last-minute agreement is not reached, the country will go into conflict shutdown. Only the military, police officers, firefighters, those who work in air traffic regulation, public health personnel and those who maintain the electricity grid will continue to be paid.
The campaign against the agreement to avoid the government shutdown was started by Elon Musk on the social network he owned, X (formerly Twitter). A few days later Donald Trump endorsed the South African entrepreneur’s positions, demonstrating the influence that Musk’s opinions have on the actions of the next US president.
What is the shutdown and why does it only happen in the USA
During the shutdown, the US federal government cannot spend money on any part of government that is not considered essential. Offices that provide numerous services are closing, from the IRS tax offices, but also all public schoolswho remain without teachers and staff.
This happens as a consequence of the intersection of the presidential system with the balance of power system designed by the American Constitution. The president’s party often does not control both houses of Congress and therefore risks not having the votes to pass its own financial law. In other systems, such as the Italian one, this would lead to the fall of the government and a new majority, but the President of the USA, being voted directly by the citizens (even through the electoral college and the electors) cannot be disheartened.
In other presidential systems, however, an alternative to the shutdown is envisaged, such as in the French one, where the failure to approve a budget law requires the government to continue operating, extending that of the previous year on an extraordinary basis. A solution similar to that which was adopted in the USA before the 1980s, when a law introduced the concept of shutdown.
