Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the DOGE brothers, had the opportunity to take a close look at the 1,500-page continuing resolution (CR) released by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Tuesday and they are not impressed in the slightest. In fact, Musk is so outraged by the “Cramnibus” – so called because Johnson is trying to squeeze it through before the government runs out of money on Friday – that he is alerting all members of Congress that voting for the bill could be theirs job costs.
READ ON TOPIC: Congress issues continuing resolution ahead of government shutdown deadline
Musk shared his thoughts on X:
Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in two years!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2024
Musk, who poured more than $250 million in groups supporting Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and is more than willing to put his money where his mouth is, urged urged his supporters to call their representatives and tell them not to vote for the CR.
“Please call your elected officials immediately and tell them how you feel!” he added a separate post. “They’re trying to enforce this today while no one is paying attention.”
Musk also demanded a moratorium on all laws until President-elect Trump takes office.
“No bills should be passed in Congress until January 20th when @realDonaldTrump takes office. None. Zero.”
One item in the CR definitely caught Musk’s attention: the salary increase that would increase members of Congress’ paychecks from $174,000 to $243,000 per year. Members would also have the advantage of not having to opt for Obamacare.
Musks take to Congress’ pay raise? “How can you call this a ‘continuing resolution’ when it includes a 40 percent pay raise for Congress?”
READ RELATED: DOGE will be Trump’s centerpiece during his second term
Similarly, Musk’s DOGE co-chair Vivek Ramaswamy expressed his opinion on the funding bill, saying: “It’s full of excessive spending, special interest giveaways and pork-barrel politics. If Congress is serious about government efficiency, they should VOTE NO.”
Vivek had a lot to say:
I wanted to read the full, 1,500-plus page bill and talk to key leaders before forming an opinion. Having done that, here’s my take: It’s full of excessive spending, special interest giveaways and pork-barrel politics. If Congress wants to get stern about government efficiency, it should vote NO.
Just keeping the government open through March 14 will cost about $380 billion, but the actual cost of this omnibus CR is far higher because of the novel spending. Extending the farm bill for another year: ~$130 billion. Disaster relief: $100 billion. Incentive for farmers: $10 billion. The Francis Scott Key Bridge replacement: $8 billion. The proposal adds at least 65 cents of novel spending for every dollar of continued discretionary spending.
The legislation will end up harming many of the people it is supposed to support. Debt-fueled spending sprees may “feel good” today, but it’s like dousing an addict with cocaine: It’s not compassion, it’s cruelty. Farmers will see more land sold to foreign buyers as taxes inevitably rise to meet our obligations. Our children will be burdened with crippling debt. Interest payments will be the largest item in our national budget.
Congress has known about this deadline since it introduced it in overdue September. There’s no reason this couldn’t have gone through the standard process instead of bringing it to a vote just before members of Congress head home for the holidays. The urgency is 100% manufactured and designed to avoid stern public debate.
The bill could easily have been less than 20 pages. Instead, dozens of unrelated policy points are crammed into this bill’s 1,547 pages. There is no legitimate reason for a lame-duck Congress to vote on them as a package deal. 72-page “Pandemic Preparedness and Response” policy; Renewal of the much criticized “Global Engagement Center”, a central player in the federal censorship state; 17 different commercial laws; pave the way for a novel soccer stadium in D.C.; a pay enhance for congressmen and senators and their eligibility for federal employee health benefits. There is no justification for imposing these measures at the last minute without debate.
We are grateful for DOGE’s balmy welcome on Capitol Hill. Almost everyone agrees that we need a smaller, leaner federal government, but actions speak louder than words. This is an early test. The bill should fail.
Speaker Johnson seems to recognize the importance of having Musk and Ramaswamy on his side, but in his opinion wordshe seems to have mixed success on this front:
“Elon, Vivek and I were in a text chain together and I explained the background to them. And Vivek and I were talking last night, almost midnight, and he said, ‘Look, I understand,'” Johnson told Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” Wednesday morning. “He said, ‘We understand that you are in an impossible position. Everyone knows that.’”
“Remember, folks, we still only have a razor-thin Republican lead. Therefore, every bill must have Democratic votes,” Johnson added. “You understand the situation. He said, “It’s not directed at you, Mr. Speaker, but we don’t like the expense.” I said, “You know what, guys, neither do I.”
Musk’s threat may have exactly the desired effect, since Republicans like senators Joni Ernst And John Cornyn signal that they will not vote for the bill.
