Barring a pre-Christmas legislative miracle, the US government will plunge into a partial shutdown at midnight Friday after Musk tanked a year-end spending deal and the Trump doubled down with a demand for new debt spending authority that he never had a chance of getting through Congress.

The world’s richest man led the charge to kill a bipartisan spending deal, in part by promoting false and misleading claims about it.

Mike Johnson carefully negotiated a bill to keep the government funded past December 20. It collapsed instantly when Musk attacked it.