Democrats Warn Trump And Musk May Try To ‘Steal’ Billions From New Federal Budget

In less than two weeks, the federal government will officially shut down if Democrats and Republicans in Congress cannot reach a budget deal that would fund operations and programs essential to dozens of agencies and millions of Americans.

However, there’s a new fear hanging over negotiations between members of the two parties as some Democrats are suggesting that Grifter-in-Chief Donald Trump and unelected president Elon Musk may try to “steal” billions of dollars allocated by Congress as part of Musk’s ongoing efforts to cut federal spending.

“Money is just being pilfered,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) claims. “They’re stealing funds that are supposed to go to American families and businesses. If we’re going to go through the agreement and get the topline and hammer it all out and someone comes along and upends it, that’s what we want to try to avoid.”

At issue is a post-Watergate law that severely limits a president’s power to “impound” congressionally approved funds. Democrats are seeking to reinforce the law while Republicans are saying such a move would be a deal-killer for them, according to The Washington Post.

“That’s a nonstarter for us, and the Democrats know that,” (Speaker of the House Mike) Johnson said. “So it looks like they’re in a posture right now where they’re making individual appropriations bills almost impossible. I’m really hopeful that they’ll back off those outrageous demands because it’s unprecedented and I think probably unconstitutional, and it’s not anything we’ll be a part of.”

The problem for Johnson is that he has such a narrow majority in the House that he’ll need Democratic votes to avoid a government shutdown, and Senate Democrats are demanding the White House adhere to the 1974 Impoundment Control Act before they will agree to support the administration’s budget package.

“The law exists and the law has been upheld,” said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), “and as far as I’m concerned, that’s the end of the conversation.”

Will the two parties be able to hammer out a spending deal? That depends in large part on how much Trump listens to Musk and whether Republicans are willing to risk the political backlash that would accompany a shutdown.

The clock is ticking, but it remains unclear if anyone in the White House has the guts to tell Musk to stand down.