Democrats Declare ‘Victory’ Over Donald Trump and Elon Musk

What’s New

Democratic House leadership said the party secured a “victory for the American people” by working to prevent a government shutdown on Friday night and not passing a bill that would raise or eliminate the debt ceiling as encouraged by President-elect Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk.

Newsweek has reached out to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ press team, Trump’s communications manager, and X’s press team on behalf of Musk for comment via email on Saturday.

Why It Matters

Friday’s continuing resolution (CR), passed just hours before the midnight deadline, does not include Trump’s directive to raise or eliminate the debt ceiling—a development Democrats are applauding as a victory.

Earlier this week, Trump and Vice-President elect JD Vance released a statement on X, formerly Twitter, saying, “Increasing the debt ceiling is not great but we’d rather do it on Biden’s watch.”

The debt ceiling is the maximum amount the federal government is allowed to borrow. If it is not addressed and the U.S. defaults on its debts, the consequences could include severe economic impacts.

Raising the limits without spending reforms has drawn concern from some fiscal conservatives.

Legislation from June 2023 suspended the debt ceiling until January 1, 2025, and Trump wants the debate and negotiations to occur prior to taking office, as noted in his statement with Vance: “If Democrats won’t cooperate on the debt ceiling now, what makes anyone think they would do it in June during our administration?”

What To Know

This week, the House has been engaged in negotiations over multiple versions of a spending bill that would prevent a government shutdown.

The House was set to pass an initial bipartisan proposal on Wednesday until Trump and Musk, a prominent ally of the president-elect’s, publicly urged Republicans to oppose the bill. In a Wednesday Truth Social post, Trump warned that any Republican House member who backed the CR without a debt limit increase “should, and will, be primaried.” Musk said any lawmaker who supported the measure should be voted out of office.

Musk, the owner of Tesla and X, has been tapped by Trump to co-lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). But many Democratic lawmakers suggest Musk has become more than that and is functioning as a de facto leader of the GOP, given his involvement in the House spending bill efforts this week.

Some Democrat lawmakers are even referring to Musk as “President Musk” and “Decider-in-Chief” following his involvement in the House CR.

An amended bill proposing a two-year suspension of the debt ceiling was advanced by House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, with the backing of Trump and Musk but lacked Democratic support on Thursday. The bill required a two-thirds majority to pass, giving Democrats leverage, and 38 Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the bill.

The third and final CR was put together on Friday and passed with a vote of 366-34. The final bill keeps the government funded until mid-March, includes $100 billion in disaster aid, and $10 billion in aid to farmers.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, speaks during a news conference on December 19 in Washington, DC. Democratic House leadership said the party secured a “victory for the American people” by working…

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

What People Are Saying

Jeffries, a New York Democrat, told reporters on Friday night: “House Democrats have successfully stopped the ‘billionaire boys club’ which wanted a four trillion-dollar blank check by suspending the debt ceiling in order to enable them to cut social security, cut Medicare, and cut nutritional assistance while providing massive tax breaks for the wealthy, the well off, and the well-connected. This is a victory for the American people.”

Johnson said to reporters after the bill passed: “It’s a very important piece of legislation. It funds the government, of course, until March of 2025. That was a big priority for us…I was in constant contact with President Trump throughout this process, spoke with him most recently about 45 minutes ago. He knew exactly what we were doing and why, and this is a good outcome for the country. I think he certainly is happy about this outcome as well.”

Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat and chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said in a statement: “Tonight, in a victory for the American people and a loss for Donald Trump and Elon Musk…we forced President-elect Trump and Shadow President Elon Musk to back down from the 11th hour demand to pass a suspension of the debt ceiling.”

Representative Robert Garcia, a California Democrat, wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter: “Donald Trump and the Republican Party are now led by Elon Musk. But we can stop him, and we proved that today by stopping a government shutdown. Let’s keep fighting like hell for working people.”

Representative Andy Biggs, an Arizona Republican who voted against the CR, wrote on X: “I voted against continuing to bankrupt our future generations.”