President-elect Donald Trump placed responsibility for resolving the current spending bill standoff squarely on President Joe Biden, stating that any potential government shutdown would be better handled before Trump assumes office. “This is a Biden problem,” Trump said, adding that it would be preferable for a shutdown to happen now rather than after he is inaugurated.

With only hours to go before a partial government shutdown, Congress was in a race against time to resolve the issue. More than three dozen Republicans had rejected Trump’s demand to tie a spending bill to an increase in the nation’s debt ceiling. Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was working to find a solution that could navigate the narrow Republican majority in the House and also pass the Democrat-controlled Senate.

“If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now, under the Biden Administration, not after January 20th, under ‘TRUMP,’” Trump declared Friday morning on Truth Social. “This is a Biden problem to solve, but if Republicans can help solve it, they will!”

Efforts to prevent a shutdown faced another hurdle Thursday when the House rejected Trump’s proposal to fund the government while suspending the debt ceiling. A tense evening vote ended without reaching the required two-thirds majority, highlighting divisions within the chamber as the midnight deadline approached.

“We’re going to regroup, and we will come up with another solution, so stay tuned,” Johnson said after the vote. The bill failed 174-235, a decisive defeat for the plan, which sparked frustration on both sides of the aisle.

The rejection was a significant blow to Trump and his ally, billionaire Elon Musk, who had fiercely opposed Johnson’s earlier bipartisan agreement designed to avoid a government shutdown. Musk and Trump both criticized the compromise, urging Republicans to hold out for a more favorable deal.

As the clock ticks down, Trump is preparing for his second inauguration on January 20, when he will begin his new term as president.

{Matzav.com}