Elon Musk recently criticized the new spending bill negotiated by House lawmakers, questioning the level of influence Republicans had in the negotiation process. The remarks were made in response to a social media post by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who highlighted House Speaker Mike Johnson's decision to consolidate three components of the spending bill after discussions with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. This move was aimed at securing the necessary votes to pass the bill through the chamber.
Musk's response to Massie's post included a query about whether the bill was more aligned with Republican or Democratic interests, accompanied by a 'thinking' emoji. The discussions among House Republicans on Friday initially revolved around the possibility of voting on three separate measures: the continued resolution, disaster relief, and farm aid, in order to prevent a government shutdown.
However, following the meeting with Jeffries, Massie revealed that Johnson had reversed his decision and opted to pursue passing all the legislation as a single vote, leveraging Democrat support. Musk's post seemed to take a critical stance on this approach. House Democrats have expressed discontent over Musk's perceived influence in the spending bill negotiations, attributing the loss of GOP support for the original version of the legislation to his public opposition.
There have been accusations that Republicans were taking cues from Musk, with some referring to him as 'President Musk' in conversations with the media. The House was scheduled to vote on a revised spending bill to prevent a government shutdown between 5 and 5:30 p.m. ET on Friday.
