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.

"Put 'America first,' and go for the victory, even if it means shutting the government down for a period of time," Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday night.

WASHINGTON − The most lasting impact of a government shutdown for Washington could be felt by President-elect Donald Trump himself as shuttered federal agencies stall the transition to a new administration on January 20,