Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke Thursday about Elon Musk’s influence on the Capitol spending drama.
“If you’re just playing catch-up: The Republican Party, following orders from the richest man in the world, is on track to shut down the government over the holidays, suspending paychecks for our troops and nutritional benefits for low-income families. income just in time for Christmas,” the 2016 presidential candidate wrote in X.
Clinton, a former first lady and senator, was in Congress from 2001 to 2009.
His comments came just as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., released a new version of a continuing resolution, or CR, to keep the government open beyond a Friday night deadline.
‘HELL NO’: OTHERS IN THE HOUSE EXPLODE OVER GOP SPENDING DEAL
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke Thursday about Elon Musk’s influence on the Capitol spending drama. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Musk came out in strong opposition to the original spending deal Johnson negotiated with Democrats, threatening to back a primary challenge to any Republican who voted in favor.
Without an acceptable deal to advance the government’s funding deadline to March and continue spending at 2024 levels, the government will enter a partial shutdown at midnight Saturday.
But House Democrats are resisting the latest version of a spending plan. And with $36 trillion in debt and a $1.8 trillion deficit in 2024, some conservatives are against a CR, which pushes the funding deadline back to March and keeps spending at 2024 levels entirely. .
“The Musk-Johnson proposal is not serious, it is ridiculous. MAGA Republican extremists are leading us to a government shutdown,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., holds his weekly press conference at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, DC, on May 23. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., indicated that Democratic leadership would whip its members into voting “no” on the deal.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., lamented that the latest deal had been scuttled by opposition from conservatives, with input from Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS DURING A PARTIAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
“Everyone agreed,” he said, “and then it was blown up by Elon Musk, who has apparently become the fourth branch of government. And that’s just an intolerable way to proceed.”
“Democrats are going to try to figure out how we can save the public good from the rubble that has just been pushed in.”
Chants of “hell no” were heard inside the room where Democrats met after the text of the bill was released.
Elon Musk threatened to support primary challenges to anyone who voted in favor of the continuing resolution. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The latest continuing resolution would extend current government funding levels for three months and also suspend the debt limit for two years, something President-elect Trump has demanded.
It comes after the original 1,500-page CR sparked opposition from the right over political and funding clauses.
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House lawmakers could vote on the new bill as early as Thursday night.
It is not immediately clear whether the new agreement would be approved. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who led opposition to the initial bill, also criticized the new deal.
“More debt. More government. Increase credit card by $4 trillion with ZERO restrictions and spending cuts. HARD NO,” Roy wrote in X.
