Speaker of the House Mike Johnson may be in the DOGE House.
Billionaire entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy rebelled against House Republican leadership on Wednesday, furious over stopgap measures to avert a government shutdown and urging rank-and-file Republicans to actively shut down the government. was encouraged.
“This bill shouldn't pass,” Musk bluntly posted on his X platform, before musing, “Have you ever seen a bigger porker?” See photo in bill text.
“It's full of excessive spending, special interest giveaways and pork belly politics. If Congress wants to get serious about government efficiency, it should vote against it,” Ramaswamy added of X.
“Congress has known about this deadline since it set it in late September. Why couldn't they go through the standard process instead of rushing to a vote at the last minute when members wanted to go home for vacation? No. The urgency is 100% manufactured.”
Despite criticism from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) co-chairs of the spending amendments announced by the leadership on Tuesday night, Mr. Johnson (R-Louis.) said the two bigwigs understood his predicament. claimed to have done so.
“I was in touch with Elon last night. Elon, Vivek and I were on a text chain together and I was explaining this background to them,” Johnson told Wednesday's “Fox & Friends.” ”, he talked about his meeting with the co-chairs of DOGE, which is not a government agency. .
“Last night, Vivek and I talked until almost midnight and he said, “Look, I get it. I understand that you are in an impossible position. Everyone knows that. ”
Congressional leaders must act to prevent the lapse or face a government shutdown Friday night. On Tuesday, they announced a continuing resolution to fund the government through March 14, 2025.
But its 1,547-page continuing resolution (CR) includes all sorts of additions, including $100 billion in disaster relief, a one-year extension of farm spending, and the possibility of up to $2 billion in rebuilding funding. It was packed tightly. These include the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland, which collapsed after a cargo ship hit it earlier this year, and $10 billion in aid to farmers.
Prime Minister Johnson faces an open revolt from Republicans, but unlike Musk and Ramaswamy, Republicans are hopeful that the House speaker will force the bill to a vote before the 118th Congress ends and lawmakers head home for vacation. They are accusing them of doing so.
Many hard-line Republicans are shouting over the bill, complaining that they just want a clean CR and think many of the other provisions should be addressed separately. Some have complained that lawmakers were not given enough time to read the text carefully.
Mr. Johnson has warmed to Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy since the 2024 election, welcoming them to the Capitol to meet with lawmakers earlier this month and attending Mar-a-Lago and President-elect Donald Trump's UFC meetings. We even rubbed elbows on one of our outings.
“Remember, folks, we still have a very small Republican lead,” Johnson added on “Fox & Friends” of his discussion with the DOGE chiefs.
“So any bill needs a Democratic vote. They understand the situation. They say, Mr. Speaker, this is not directed at you, but we don't like the spending. Ta.”
Democrats control both the Senate and the White House. Given the thin Republican control of the House of Representatives, Mr. Johnson will need to rely on Democrats, as he has several members who are likely to vote against CR.
“We have to get this done, because here's the key. By doing this, we're clearing the decks and preparing Trump to come roaring back.” is” [the] It's America First,” Johnson continued.
Congress is scheduled to have an active calendar early next year, reconsidering both President Trump's agenda and the outstanding government funding process for fiscal year 2025 before moving on to fiscal year 2026, which is due by October 1, 2025. It is necessary to balance the two.
As Johnson explained, the CR aims to clear the way for some key issues, particularly disaster relief replenishment, to ease the burden on the House in the next Congress.
“Right now we still have Democrats in power and that's the problem. So we have to get this thing done without a government shutdown. So we're going to get short-term funding and we're going to “We can see the traces of spending,” Johnson continued.
“That’s when the big changes start, and I can’t wait to get there.”
