WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson joked after Elon Musk helped stall a major government spending bill Thursday, resulting in a streamlined bill passed Friday night after two days of deliberation. He said he asked if he wanted to take over his job. A heated argument.
After the House overwhelmingly passed the final version, Johnson (R-Louisiana) told reporters: “Elon Musk and I spoke about an hour ago and talked about the extraordinary challenges of this job. ” he said.
“And I said, 'Hey, do you want to be Speaker of the House?' I don't know. 'He said this might be the hardest job in the world. I think it is.'
Mr. Musk, the incoming head of President-elect Donald Trump's cost-cutting arm, the Department of Government Efficiency, played a leading role in watering down the original 1,547-page bill before Mr. Johnson cut it to 118 pages. Trump also joined in criticizing the original plan. version.
House Democrats decided to refer to the CEOs of SpaceX and Tesla as “President Musk” while debating the bill.
Mr Musk praised Mr Johnson on Friday night, saying: Tweet: “Given the circumstances, the Speaker has done a good job here. We went from notes in pounds to notes in ounces. Ball should be in the Democratic court now.”
The role of Speaker of the House does not require that person to be a member of the House, but all previous speakers have been members of the House, meaning Musk could technically hold the position if lawmakers elected him. It means that there is a possibility of getting a job.
Johnson's own fate is in jeopardy due to next year's razor-thin Republican majority and fiscal hawks' anger over a pared-back spending bill.
Prime Minister Johnson said he was in close contact with President Trump during the final stages of deliberating the bill, but to avoid a partial government shutdown in the middle of the night, the bill must pass the Senate and Biden It must be signed by the outgoing president.
“I have been in constant communication with President Trump throughout this process,” Johnson said. “I spoke to him recently about 45 minutes ago. He understands exactly what we are doing and why, which is a good outcome for the country. I'm definitely happy with the results.”
The House speaker argued that Republicans will have more freedom to reform federal spending in January when they control both chambers of Congress and the White House.
“Things are going to change a lot around here. This is a necessary step to bridge the gap and get us to the moment where we can leave our mark on final spending decisions in 2025.” “It was a great step,” Johnson said.
