Topline
In an X post early on Wednesday, Elon Musk attacked the stop-gap spending bill unveiled by congressional leaders on Tuesday night that would keep the federal government funded until March and avert a government shutdown during the holidays, and called for its passage to be blocked.
Billionaire Elon Musk, has been named by Trump as the co-chair of the newly announced Department of ... [+]
Key Facts
Musk reshared a post about the bill by Vivek Ramaswamy—who has been picked by President-elect Donald Trump to co-lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency along with the fellow billionaire—and wrote: “This bill should not pass.”
Ramaswamy had tweeted that he was reading the entire 1,547-page bill and he expects “every U.S. Congressman & Senator to do the same.”
In a follow-up post, Musk appeared to reshare a photo of a physical copy of the bill posted by another user and wrote: “Ever seen a bigger piece of pork?”
It is unclear if the billionaire has read through the entire bill like Ramaswamy said he intends to do.
Musk’s posts also did not specify any particular part of the funding bill he is opposed to.
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What To Watch For
President-elect Donald Trump has not yet publicly stated if he will back or oppose the spending bill, which has angered some conservatives in Congress. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters on Thursday that Speaker Mike Johnson will need support from Democrats to pass the bill as he expects many GOP lawmakers to oppose it.
Key Background
The 1,547-page bill, which intends to avert a government shutdown at the end of this week, was released Tuesday night. Some of the key provisions in the bill include nearly $100 billion to help fund disaster relief—which includes money to provide aid to communities damaged from hurricanes Milton and Helene, along with wildfires and flooding across the country. The bill also includes a provision for federal aid to help rebuild Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed in March. The package also includes a $10 billion economic package to help aid farmers. Johnson described the bill as a “small” stopgap measure to keep the government funded until March and said the additions they had to make were issues “out of our control,” adding, “I wish it weren’t necessary. I wish we hadn’t had record hurricanes in the fall.”
Further Reading
Elon Musk Should Face Conflict-Of-Interest Rules For Trump DOGE Work, Elizabeth Warren Argues (Forbes)
Elon Musk’s DOGE Takes Aim At Federal Agencies—Here’s Where Cuts Could Be Made (Forbes)
CORRECTION (12/18): This story has been updated to note the funding bill was released Tuesday.
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