Look what happened. Is this crazy? We stand on the verge of the four greatest years in the history.

Make America great a game. How can you be against them?

Welcome to Sidebar from the Washington Post. I'm Libby Casey here in our newsroom with senior political correspondent Rhonda Colvin and editorial writer and columnist James Holman. Hello, friends.

Hello.

2024 is closing out soon and members of Congress are set to get out of Washington and go home, but not so fast.

Of course, nothing is simple.

And this is where we play the record, like, scratching or the wine glass from the Christmas

office party falling, shattering all over the ground.

Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and J.D. Vance have interrupted the final stage of a bill that

would fund the government

for three months. They have thrown things into chaos, and we are now risking a government

shutdown. And did you notice how I ordered those names, Elon Musk first? Is that fair, James?

Today it is. It's the United States of Elon. He's the most powerful man in business,

politics, arguably media right now. And I think we're going to end up seeing this as like the apex of his power

because what is happening right now is not sustainable and it will not last. And Donald Trump is

the one who actually will be president come January 20th. We're going to talk more about just who holds the power.

I'll note that other rich and powerful tech giants have been making their way to Mara Lago,

to pay a visit to Donald Trump, to pay tribute in some respects. So today we'll talk about what

this moment reveals about something James just said, who holds the power? We'll also cast our

eyes ahead to what Washington will look like when the new Congress gavels in come January. They start

first, then Trump gets sworn in a few weeks later. Now we know Republicans will control the House,

the Senate, and the White House. But who's leaving? And what does the institution of Congress lose as a result of the departures that we'll see?

...