It appears Elon Musk’s mandate from Donald Trump to eliminate the government bloat is already well underway.
Speaker Mike Johnson scrambled to craft a last-minute spending bill to avoid a government shutdown after Trump and Musk tanked his initial plan.
Musk, the co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), openly ridiculed Johnson’s original nearly 1,600-page bill on X.
And Trump demanded that the bill, which he called a ‘nasty trap’ set by Democrats, be renegotiated.
He cautioned House Republicans about backing the inflated bill, which contains unnecessary provisions such as a salary increase for Congress, extra funds for disaster relief, and unrelated spending items.
This paragraph should be returned as a single paragraph.
‘Any Republican that would be so stupid as to do this should, and will, be Primaried,’ he wrote on his TruthSocial platform.
As a result of the mounting pressure, Johnson and his leadership team struck a deal on much more trimmed down bill – just 116 pages – one day later.
Musk posted a photo on X of the stack of pages in the legislation showing ‘Yesterday’s bill’ versus ‘today’s bill’ difference.
However, the new 116-page bill spectacularly failed on the House floor Thursday evening after Republicans and Democrats voted against the measure.
Musk posted a photo on X of the stack of pages in the legislation showing ‘Yesterday’s bill’ versus ‘today’s bill’ difference
President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk pose for a photo during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City. The two disliked Johnson’s original spending plan and so they had him change it
Speaker Mike Johnson has spent the last days drafting and then re-drafting legislation to avoid a government shutdown
Democrats were not onboard with the new Trump-backed deal and Johnson couldn’t afford to lose many Republican defectors.
GOP Rep. Chip Roy raged against the bill saying that Republicans are ‘profoundly unserious about reducing deficits.’
Since it didn’t pass, the government will be headed into a partial shutdown on Friday at midnight.
Celebrating Johnson’s work crafting the new deal, Trump triumphantly posted on Truth Social: ‘Success in Washington!’
‘Speaker Mike Johnson and the House have come to a very good Deal for the American People,’ his post continued. ‘The newly agreed to American Relief Act of 2024 will keep the Government open, fund our Great Farmers and others, and provide relief for those severely impacted by the devastating hurricanes.’
Trump also applauded language to suspend the debt limit until 2027.
‘A very important piece, vital to the America First Agenda, was added as well – The date of the very unnecessary Debt Ceiling will be pushed out two years, to January 30, 2027,’ Trump wrote.
‘Now we can Make America Great Again, very quickly, which is what the People gave us a mandate to accomplish. All Republicans, and even the Democrats, should do what is best for our Country, and vote “yes” for this Bill, tonight!’
After hearing about the slimmer CR Thursday afternoon, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., balked at the bill.
‘Its not serious, its laughable,’ Jeffries said of the deal. ‘Extreme MAGA Republicans are driving us to a shutdown.’
Earlier in the day, Trump had harsher words for Johnson, giving him a clear ultimatum if the speaker wanted to stay in power.
‘Anybody that supports a bill that doesn’t take care of the Democrat quicksand known as the debt ceiling should be primaried and disposed of as quickly as possible,’ the president-elect told Fox News Digital Thursday morning, issuing a clear warning.
‘If the speaker acts decisively, and tough, and gets rid of all of the traps being set by the Democrats, which will economically and, in other ways, destroy our country, he will easily remain speaker,’ he continued.
A top senator is now floating the idea of replacing Johnson as the top Republican in the House with maverick Elon Musk
Johnson’s new CR came after an onslaught of public pressure by Trump ally and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
After the original 1,500+ page bill was posted Tuesday, the DOGE co-chair began ridiculing the legislation on X nonstop to his over 200 million followers.
Billionaire Musk, who is heading up Trump’s DOGE agency with Vivek Ramaswamy, led the charge to slap down the bill he called a ‘piece of pork.’
He went so far as to threaten any Republican who votes for the measure, saying they’ll be fired from Congress next election.
‘Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!’ he wrote on X.
Later Musk wrote the successfully killed the speaker’s bill, something later confirmed by Trump and House GOP leadership: ‘Your elected representatives have heard you and now the terrible bill is dead. The voice of the people has triumphed!’
Sen. Rand Paul , R-Ky., says the Constitution does not require the speaker to be a member of Congress, opening the door for fresh blood
The back and forth saga between Musk and Johnson has since prompted some members of Congress to muse whether the billionaire would be a more effective House speaker.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said the Constitution does not require the speaker to be a member of Congress, opening the door for fresh blood.
‘Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk . . . think about it . . . nothing’s impossible,’ he states, adding there would be ‘joy’ at seeing the ‘collective establishment lose their ever-lovin’ minds.’
Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said she is ‘open to supporting’ Paul’s proposal.
‘The establishment needs to be shattered just like it was yesterday. This could be the way,’ she wrote on X.
She later sent a poll to her constituents asking if they would be supportive of Musk taking on the top job in Congress.
