Musk says the congressional bill to avoid a government shutdown should not pass

On By Littum

Upper line

In an X post early Wednesday, Elon Musk attacked the stop gap consumption bill unveiled by congressional leaders Tuesday night that would keep the federal government funded through March and avert a government shutdown over the holidays, and called for its passage to be blocked.

Key facts

Musk redistributed a post about the bill by Vivek Ramaswamy — who has been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to co-head the so-called Department of Government Efficiency with the fellow billionaire — writing, “This bill should not pass.”

Ramaswamy had tweeted that he read the entire 1,547-page bill and he expects “all US Congressmen and Senators to do the same.”

It is unclear whether the billionaire has read the entire bill, as Ramaswamy said he intends to do.

Musk’s post also didn’t specify any specific part of the funding bill he opposes.

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President-elect Donald Trump has yet to publicly say whether he will support or oppose the spending bill, which has angered some conservatives in Congress. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters 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 pages billintended to avert a government shutdown later this week, was released Friday 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 by 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 farmers. Describing the bill as a “small” measure to keep the government funded until March, Johnson said the additions they had to make were matters “outside our control”, adding: “I wish it wasn’t necessary .I wish we hadn’t had record hurricanes this fall.”

Further reading

Elon Musk Should Face Conflict of Interest Rules for Trump DOGE Work, Claims Elizabeth Warren (Forbes)

Elon Musk’s DOGE takes aim at federal agencies — here’s where cuts could be made (Forbes)