House Democratic leaders strongly criticized Republicans on Thursday for falling in line with billionaire Elon Musk’s demand to scrap legislation that will fund the federal government.
Following criticism from Musk (which was later echoed by President-elect Donald Trump), Republicans pulled the continuing resolution that had bipartisan support. In addition to supporting ongoing government operations, the bill contains disaster relief for thousands of Americans affected by hurricanes and other natural disasters in recent months.
If the House doesn’t come up with a stopgap appropriations bill by Friday, it could trigger a partial government shutdown.
“That bipartisan agreement has now been detonated because House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government and hurt the very working-class Americans that many of them pretend to want to help,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said at a press conference.
Musk led the uprising against the bill along with failed presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Both men are part of the gaggle of billionaires and millionaires who make up the upper echelon of Trump advisers. The duo has been appointed to lead the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency, which claims it will cut $2 trillion in government spending.
House Minority Whip Katherine Clark castigated Republicans for how their actions will affect middle-class families and business owners.
“What's really hard is you are already struggling to pay your bills, and all of a sudden the aid for your small business that you thought was coming is going to not come because Elon Musk and Donald Trump decided to inject this chaos and hardship into your life,” Clark said.
Hard-line Republicans who oppose the bill have indicated that as payback for this budget proposal, they may withhold support for Speaker Mike Johnson in the leadership elections scheduled for January when Congress reconvenes. The GOP has a very small majority in the House despite the party’s success in the recent election.
Jeffries was asked if Democrats might back Johnson in the upcoming speaker election in exchange for including some Democratic priorities in the next funding bill. His answer was succinct: “No.”
Even as Democrats slam Musk and Trump for their disruptive actions, members of the Republican caucus are voicing support for the South African multibillionaire and chaos agent.
During an interview on Fox Business, Rep. Andy Barr of Kentucky was asked if Musk is exerting undue influence over Congress from his unelected position.
“No, I don't think so. I think this is exactly what the American people voted for,” he responded.
Musk reportedly spent at least $250 million to prop up Trump in the election and now has congressional Republicans doing as he demands. The Democratic Party’s leadership has now shown it’s not on board with the Musk-GOP alliance.
