The co-leaders of the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have opposed a relief bill that has angered conservatives in Congress.
“Unless @DOGE ends the careers of deceitful politicians, the waste and corruption will never stop,” said Tesla and Space Elon Musk posted on X on Wednesday afternoon as Republican lawmakers questioned the best path forward for the CR to fund the government.
“That’s why there’s no choice but to do this. I wish there was another way, but there isn’t.”
Former Republican presidential candidate and DOGE co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy was also an outspoken critic of the legislation, suggesting in a X message Wednesday that Republicans should introduce a simple one-page resolution.
Elon Musk, co-chair of the newly announced Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), arrives on Capitol Hill on December 5, 2024 in Washington, DC; Vivek Ramaswamy, chairman and co-founder of Strive Asset Management, arrives to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, December 5, 2024. (Left: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Right: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Yes, it *is* possible to issue a simple one-page continuation resolution, rather than an omnibus pig-fest of over 1,500 pages,” Ramaswamy wrote. “Here it is.:”
Ramaswamy continued, “This is what a clean CR looks like. I’m still not crazy about it because it allows for the historic spending overruns, but at the very least we shouldn’t have to pile more waste on top of it.”
Musk, who posted a video from Ramaswamy who railed against the bill and urged Americans to call on their representatives to “stop stealing your tax dollars,” spent part of the afternoon reposting comments from elected Republicans opposing opposed the bill.
“Thank you!” Musk posted in response to Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna that she will not vote for the “Cramnibus Act” because of “billions in Ukraine, mask and vaccine mandates, Deep State immunity.”
DOGE CAUCUS FOUNDING MEMBER DEBUNTS 2 BILLS TO LAUNCH TRUMP-TERM DEPOSITS
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., talks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol following the final votes of the week on Thursday, September 12, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“I will still fight for a standalone disaster relief bill,” Luna wrote.
In an earlier post on Musk wrote about X.
Congressional leaders released the text of their 1,547-page CR on Tuesday evening after last-minute negotiations postponed its original release on Sunday. Since then, there has been fierce opposition from conservatives and Republican Party hardliners in the House of Representatives, many of whom are frustrated with the unrelated policy makers associated with the legislation – rather than a “clean” expansion of the government financing.
SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk speaks during an America PAC town hall on October 26, 2024 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
The final package extends existing government programs and services at their current operational levels for several more months, through March 14, 2025.
The emergency measure is necessary because Congress has failed to pass its annual appropriations bills to fund all the various agencies in the federal government, from the Pentagon and national security apparatus to Healthcare, Human Services, transportation and other routine domestic services . When the budget year ended on September 30, Congress simply brushed aside the problem by passing a temporary funding bill that expires Friday.
Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reported Wednesday afternoon that there is “now talk of withdrawing the CR and trying to pass a ‘clean’ bill. But it is “unclear whether that also means no need for disaster relief. “
Stopping the 1,500-page spending package and forcing a vote on a clean bill would mark a major victory for DOGE and its supporters, who have loudly pushed for changes in the way government spending bills are handled.
“This bill violates the very existence of @DOGE,” said Republican Chip Roy’s press office posted on X. “The @HouseGOP should vote NO. Miss Christmas if you must.”
Pergram reported on X on Wednesday that the bill was “bleeding Republican support.”
“As for Elon Musk telling lawmakers that everyone should be voted out of office within two years, a member of the House Republican leadership told Fox that Musk is ‘not helping. He has bigger fish to fry than arguing with House Republicans,” Pergram wrote.
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 28: U.S. Representative Chip Roy (R-TX) attends a press conference on the debt limit and the Freedom Caucus’ plan for spending reduction at the U.S. Capitol on March 28, 2023 in Washington, DC. The group of conservative Republicans is proposing deep cuts in entitlement spending, including repealing much of President Joe Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction Act. ((Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images))
Johnson’s difficulty in coming to terms with his razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives has led to names being put forward who could potentially replace him in the next Congress. Fox News Digital reports this.
Fox News host Lawrence Jones reported late Wednesday afternoon that President-elect Trump is “completely against” the CR, although he “acknowledged” that Johnson is in a precarious position.
During an appearance on Fox & Friends on Wednesday morning, Johnson said that while the national debt and deficits are a concern, Republicans should pass “short-term emergency financing measures” while Democrats still control the White House and Senate.
“We have it at the center and when we start the new Congress in January, when the Republicans are in power and DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency) is working on all six cylinders, we will be able to scale . supports the size and scope of government,” he said.
Johnson also said the move would ensure Republicans can control spending through 2025, describing it as an “impossible position.”
“This is the process of making sausage,” he added.
The House Speaker also revealed that he has been in talks with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who will helm DOGE.
Elon Musk is among Trump’s allies pushing House Republicans, led by Speaker Mike Johnson, to hold a House vote on the Kids Online Safety Act (Getty Images)
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“Remember, guys, we still only have a razor-thin margin of Republicans. So any bill must get votes from Democrats. They understand the situation.” Johnson said, referring to the text exchange.
If Republicans fail to muster the necessary votes or get enough support from Democrats to push it through, despite vocal opponents within the party, the country could face a government shutdown on Friday evening.
“What does President Trump want Republicans to do: vote for CR or shut down the government? In the absence of leadership, confusion reigns,” the retiring senator said. Mitt RomneyR-Utah, in a sly post on X.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Trump said in a statement: “If Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, call their bluff.”
Musk discussed the possibility of a shutdown when X wrote that “shutting down the government (which, by the way, doesn’t actually shut down critical functions) is infinitely better than passing a terrible bill.”
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom, Liz Elkind, Nikolas Lanum and Associated Press contributed to this report
