Trump joins Elon Musk in opposing House Republicans’ government funding bill

President-elect Donald Trump spoke out against and advocated for a Republican-backed government funding bill on Wednesday Elon MuskThe US crusade against the package increases the likelihood of a government shutdown.

Trump opposes Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson’s continuing resolution, according to a source familiar with the president-elect’s thinking, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.

The source confirmed that Trump said a Fox News host he is “totally against” the CR.

Later Wednesday afternoon, the vice president-elect and senator said. JD VanceR-Ohio, released a joint statement from him and Trump saying politicians should “pass a streamlined bill” that doesn’t give Democrats “everything they want.”

“Republicans want to support our farmers, pay for disaster relief and prepare our country for success in 2025. The only way to achieve this is a temporary funding bill WITHOUT DEMOCRATIC GIVEAWAYS, combined with an increase in the debt ceiling,” reads Vance’s statement on X.

“Anything else is a betrayal of our country,” their statement said.

Their opposition adds significant weight to Musk’s ongoing efforts throughout the day to undermine the 1,547-page bill, which he says is fraught with wasteful spending.

If there is no government funding bill passed by the House and Senate and signed by the president after Friday night, the federal government would begin enacting a partial shutdown that could include employee furloughs.

Musk, whom Trump tapped to co-head an advisory group aimed at reducing alleged government waste, did not appear worried about the prospect of a government shutdown a week before Christmas.

“‘Shutting down the government’ (which, by the way, doesn’t actually shut down critical functions) is infinitely better than passing a terrible bill,” Musk wrote in one of dozens X posts Ranting against the CR.

In another postMusk claimed that “no bills should be passed” by Congress until Trump takes office on January 20.

A growing number of Republican lawmakers have sided with Musk and could force Johnson, R-La., to pass the resolution under a process known as a “suspension” of the traditional House rules process.

Passing bills under suspension requires the bill to receive the support of two-thirds of the House of Representatives, but other procedural steps are bypassed.

Democrats would have to join Republicans to pass the suspended bill, and as of Wednesday morning, a CR suspension seemed like the most likely path to funding the government.

Johnson said Wednesday morning that he had been texting with Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy overnight about the bill.

“You understand the situation. They said, ‘It’s not directed at you, Mr. Speaker, but we don’t like the expense.’ I said, ‘You know what, guys, me neither,'” Johnson told “Fox & Friends.”

But “we have to get this done,” Johnson told Musk and Ramaswamy, because “by doing so we clear the way” for Trump to push through his agenda.

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