US government shutdown crisis reappears! Federal spending in February reached a record $600 billion, will Musk's DOGE budget cut be ineffective?

The US government is once again facing a shutdown crisis. If Congress and the Trump administration do not reach a protocol by 12:01 am Eastern Time on the 15th, the US government will shut down. At the same time, the latest data from the US Treasury Department shows that Musk's efforts to cut spending have had little effect, with federal government spending last month reaching a record $603 billion. Prior to this, the Republican-led House of Representatives passed a temporary funding bill by a vote of 217 to 213 to keep the government running, avoiding a shutdown after the 14th. In the Senate, this 6-month temporary spending bill (CR) will need to be passed by the Republican-majority Senate and signed into law by Trump within 14 days to avoid a government shutdown. The bill must receive more than 60 votes in the Senate, where the Republicans currently hold 53 seats, meaning it would need at least 8 Democratic senators' support to pass. If the bill fails and leads to a shutdown, over 2 million government employees will be forced to take unpaid leave. However, Senate Democrats generally oppose the bill, arguing that it increases defense spending by about $60 billion while cutting domestic budgets by about $13 billion, affecting funding for veteran benefits, major disease research, and non-proliferation programs. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Wednesday that Senate Democrats will reject the bill and called for a one-month government spending extension bill to allow more time for negotiations. However, Republicans are not very interested in this one-month bill, and a shutdown crisis is imminent. It is worth noting that despite Musk's efforts to reform and reduce government spending, the latest data from the US Treasury Department shows that federal government spending in February hit a record $603 billion, while federal revenue was only $296 billion, resulting in a budget deficit of $307 billion. This highlights the difficulties the Trump administration faces in significantly reducing the size of the government. Federal spending is expected to continue to grow through 2025. Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) claims to have saved over $100 billion in government spending, but in the first full month of the Trump administration, only a few departments saw a decrease in spending. Musk has repeatedly claimed that DOGE is expected to cut $1 trillion in annual federal spending and is currently reducing spending at a rate of $40 billion per day. However, the February data shows that only a few major spending categories saw significant decreases, such as the Department of Education cutting $6 billion in spending.