Donald Trump’s multi-billion dollar deportation plan was plunged into doubt over the weekend as 38 Republican rebels defied his demands on the government funding bill.
The president-elect faced the first major test of his influence over Republicans in the House in a chaotic few days that narrowly avoided a government shutdown.
But it was not a test that Trump passed with flying colors.
Although he was handed a resounding mandate by voters on November 5 – ultra-conservative Republicans rejected his Elon Musk-backed demand to lift the debt ceiling.
Thirty-eight fiscal conservatives – including Kentucky ‘s Thomas Massie and South Carolina’s Nancy Mace – defected on Thursday night despite Trump’s loud protestations on his social media platform, TruthSocial.
Then, hours before the deadline on Saturday morning, Congress passed a deal to keep the government funded through February – without lifting the debt ceiling.
Marc Short, Trump’s ex-legislative affairs director, warned that the rebellion ‘did not portend well’ for the president-elect’s bold strategy at the border. Trump’s mass deportation plan is estimated to cost north of $80 billion per year.