President-elect Trump's transition team has criticized Democratic senators who suggested Elon Musk was the “true leader” of the Republican Party following his aggressive pressure campaign against stopgap spending measures. I rebelled.
“As soon as President Trump announced his official position on CR, [continuing resolution]Republicans on Capitol Hill echoed his views. President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. A complete halt,” Caroline Levitt, transition spokeswoman for the Trump Vance team, said in a statement shared with The Hill.
Musk, a close ally of Trump, posted a number of social media posts Wednesday slamming the bipartisan spending bill announced Tuesday night ahead of the Dec. 20 government shutdown deadline.
Musk, who co-chairs President Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) advisory committee that aims to reduce government spending, called the more than 1,500-page bill a major “major piece” and asked members of Congress to consider it. I urge you to vote no. pork.
At one point he argued that MPs who support CR should be voted out of office, Suspension of all laws Until President Trump takes office on January 20th.
He and DOGE co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy posted about CR online for hours on Wednesday, until President Trump and Vice President-elect Vance broke their silence and announced their opposition to the bill.
Amid mounting pressure from Trump and his allies, CR quickly collapsed, and several Democrats were quick to point to a barrage of Musk's online posts as a factor in the collapse.
Several Democratic lawmakers have blamed “President Elon Musk” for the impending government shutdown, using the situation as an opportunity to question President Trump's control of their party.
It remains unclear how much of a role Musk and Ramaswamy's online posts played in public opposition to Trump and Vance, and whether the two DOGE leaders were communicating with the president-elect. .
Multiple Republican lawmakers told The Hill on Wednesday that they believe Musk is increasing his influence on Capitol Hill, with at least one saying his posts influenced the original CR vote count. The report reportedly suggested that there was a possibility that
The bill would have funded the government through March 14, avoiding the Dec. 20 deadline.
House Republicans are currently considering an alternative government funding stopgap proposal that would rule out raising the debt ceiling to appease Mr. Trump and instead push the committee to raise the borrowing limit twice next year.
The new bill is still under consideration and subject to change, but sources said it would be similar to House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) previous plan, minus some policy provisions. People told The Hill on Thursday.
