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Donald Trump won't be president of the United States for another month, at least not literally. Yet his recent victory in the budget battle shows that he has already become the nation's leader, for all intents and purposes, and not too soon.
In just a few days, Trump's pressure on Congress, including attack dogs targeting Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy at the Department of Government Efficiency over reckless spending, has transformed… 1500 brutal pages From a bill into a small 120-page package containing basic necessities, including disaster relief and assistance to farmers.
Before Trump intervened, the whole world was anticipating that House Speaker Mike Johnson would stuff Democrats' stockings with pork and goodies to ensure the shutdown wouldn't be ruined during next month's inauguration.
Dougie leader Elon Musk is sending “shock waves” through the Capitol over his massive spending bill
Johnson believed that enough Republicans would simply sigh and agree to the continuing resolution he negotiated with Democrats, and there was some logic in letting sleeping dogs lie until Trump took control of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and Republicans took the Senate in January.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the bill's passage. At Trump's request… Musk and Ramaswamy started publishing On X all the deep flaws in the legislation, there were some doozies.
Elon Musk, co-chair of the newly announced Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), arrives on Capitol Hill on December 5, 2024 in Washington, D.C.; Vivek Ramaswamy, Chairman and Co-Founder of Strive Asset Management, arrives to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, December 5, 2024. (Left: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Right: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
For example, it was the bill Continued funding for the Department of State's Center for Global Engagementan organization that appears to exist solely to promote online censorship for conservatives under the guise of combating so-called misinformation.
The bill also includes a pay raise for self-serving lawmakers, as well as spending billions on pet projects across the country.
Within hours of the flood of posts from the dynamic duo DOGE, the American people began to wake up to what was in the bill and object. A few GOP lawmakers flipped from yes to no on the bill, thus setting the stage for our soon-to-be Commander in Chief.
With the target watered down, Trump tore up the bill, going so far as to threaten lawmakers who voted for it with primary challenges. Trump even suggested that Johnson's presidency could be in doubt if he did not join the ranks.
And that was it. Ding Dong is dead, and the American people have dodged the bullet, or should we say, “chased it.” By Friday night, the House passed the cleaner, leaner bill and a shutdown was averted.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Los Angeles, is greeted as he arrives to speak at a campaign event at the Lucas County Republican Party headquarters in Holland, Ohio, Saturday, October 26, 2024.
Guess who played absolutely no role in getting all of this done? That's right, Joe Biden. You remember him, he's the President of the United States, or at least that's what it says on his business cards.
It would be easier for you to find Waldo at the candy cane factory than to find Grandpa Joe's fingerprints anywhere in this historic deal.
Newt Gingrich, the former GOP Speaker of the House, knows a thing or two about how to make congressional hot dogs, and here's what he had to say on X:
“Reducing the ongoing resolution from 1,547 pages to 118 pages is a huge victory for President Trump and shows that the election mattered and he is truly the de facto president while President Biden has been absent and passive. A good start for real change in Washington!”
It was surprising how all week people tried to paint the budget mess as Republicans in disarray with House members challenging Trump and trouble looming between Trump and Musk. However, when the dust settled, we had thrown away 1,400 pages of blunders without Biden even so much as a glance.
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Trump's first term as president, while successful in many ways, was marred by Democrats' relentless and ridiculous investigations into nothing, but also, in fairness, by a bit of naivete on the part of Trump himself.
Trump was new to Washington and its lying machinations in 2017, but not anymore. Today, like the veteran he is, he is not only ready to lead the nation, but let's face it, he is already doing so.
Make no mistake, this fight was a risk. The shutdown could have dampened the prevailing sense of optimism across America after the election. But with risk comes reward, and today, as we slay the dragon of out-of-control spending, that optimism is set to grow.
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This is what leaders do, they take risks to make life better, they show up and explain themselves. We haven't had this kind of leadership in four long years.
Since January 20, 2021, no one has been entirely clear about who is actually running the country. Well, that's about to change. On January 20th of next year, there will be no doubt that Donald J. Trump will be directly leading the country. If that is not the case already.
Click here to read more from David Marcus
