Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) said President-elect Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk could sustain the financial blow a government shutdown would cause, arguing that is why they offhandedly stifled support for House Republicans' first spending package earlier this week.
“It‘s not going to hurt Musk. It‘s not going to hurt Trump or all those donors," Landsman said Thursday evening on CNN. "These are multi-millionaires, billionaires."
“They‘re fine. It hurts our people. It‘s terrible," he added.
Strategists and some legislators have suggested Musk is holding the reins of government instead of Trump following a series of posts on social platform X that worked to tank the funding bill that would have kept the government open until March.
The president-elect's team has hit back on those claims, which came out after Trump had seemingly supported the 1,500-page bill until Musk and other allies openly criticized it.
However, Landsman implied that Trump was a leader only for the wealthy and the rich, stating that American people did not support a government shutdown nor the woes that would follow.
"This is not what the American people want," he said in the interview. "A government shutdown will hurt workers, our folks, I mean, 85 percent of the federal workforce is out in districts all across the country."
"And it will hurt the economy, cost the economy billions," The Ohio Democrat added. "It‘s so reckless what they‘re doing."
Federal employees' pay could be withheld until Congress reaches an effective resolution for funding amid debate over the debt ceiling, disaster relief and aid for farmers.
The standoff between House Republicans and Democrats could affect nearly three million workers including airport security staff, social security administration workers and veteran affairs employees. The left has been pointing fingers at Republicans for proposing last minute changes to a deal that was mostly favorable to both sides.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre urged GOP lawmakers to vote in favor of a continuing resolution ahead of Friday's deadline, which includes measures Democrats advocated for.
“Triggering a damaging government shutdown would hurt families who are gathering to meet with their loved ones and endanger the basic services Americans from veterans to Social Security recipients rely on,” Jean-Pierre said Thursday in a statement.
“A deal is a deal. Republicans should keep their word," she added.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) revealed Friday morning that a third iteration of the bill has been reached, and voting is expected to take place.
