WASHINGTON – Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are urging lawmakers not to pass a government funding extension that would prevent a major shutdown at the end of the week.
“This bill should not pass,” Musk wrote on X Wednesday morning. He later asked his hundreds of millions of followers: “Ever seen a bigger piece of pork?” a jab used to describe legislation full of pet projects and other interests.
Ramasway wrote that the bill is “full of excessive spending, special interest giveaways & pork barrel politics. If Congress wants to get serious about government efficiency, they should VOTE NO.”
Musk and Ramaswamy will lead a temporary agency under President-elect Donald Trump’s second term dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency that seeks to cut government spending.
Opposition from the tech mogul and former Republican presidential candidate, two of Trump’s top allies, may complicate the passage of the bill that would keep the government’s doors open through March 14 – and pass a series of additional policies including $100 billion for disaster relief efforts.
Thousands of federal employees would be furloughed, and other important resources could be delayed or put on pause if Congress is unable to pass the funding extension in time.
But frustrations were already brewing with House Republicans, from the ultraconservative to more moderate members, over the latest deal to avoid a government shutdown. Some accused top GOP leaders of leaving them out of the dealmaking process, while others have long rejected temporarily funding the government through bills known as continuing resolutions.
However, House Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox and Friends Wednesday that he is on a text chain with Musk and Ramaswamy, and that the three of them were talking about their concerns last night.
“I was explaining to them the background of this” Johnson said. Ramswamy told Johnson “we don’t like the spending,” and Johnson told them: “I don’t either.”
But “we gotta get this done because here’s the key: By doing this we are clearing the decks and setting up for Trump to come in roaring back with the America First agenda,” he said.
However, the mid-March deadline sets up a new funding fight that would come in the middle of Trump’s first 100 days in office, a crucial time in which the new GOP trifecta in Washington will be pushing to get a massive package of conservative priorities passed.
Several Republicans have suggested that the three-month extension simply serves to avoid a battle over Johnson’s leadership position, given he promised his fellow lawmakers not to pass big year-end spending bills dubbed “Christmas trees.” Those leverage lawmakers’ desire to leave Washington in order to secure spending for myriad individual projects and priorities.
Johnson insisted Tuesday that this package is not a so-called Christmas tree, but it simply adds necessary funding to help cleanup two devastating hurricanes and to support struggling farmers.
More:Congress avoids serious government shutdown – for now – after lawmakers reach bipartisan deal
The legislation includes a number of additional provisions, including a pay raise for members of Congress, sweeping health care reforms, funding to rebuild the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, legislation to make ticket prices more transparent, policy to counter drone threats and more.
However, in order to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the week, Johnson had to strike a deal with Democrats. They still still control the U.S. Senate, and they will be necessary to help him pass any funding extension through the House, given Republicans’ small majority and division over the latest funding deal.
“As always, bipartisan cooperation must lead the way – we can’t have last minute delays or grandstanding, or else the American people won’t get the funding they deserve, or else we could risk a shutdown,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor Wednesday morning.
