Musk says US lawmakers who vote to avert government shutdown should be voted out

19/12/2024 6:09

Donald Trump



ally Elon Musk said on Wednesday that U.S. lawmakers who

vote for



a stopgap measure



that would fund the government through mid-March should be

voted out of office, a move that could complicate the U.S.

Congress' efforts to avert a partial government shutdown.



"Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this

outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!"

the Tesla chief executive wrote on his X social media platform.



The federal government will run out of money to fund

operations on Saturday unless Congress acts.



Musk spent more than $250 million to help fuel

President-elect Trump's November election, and has been named by

Trump along with fellow businessman Vivek Ramaswamy to lead an

advisory panel to cut spending and make the government more

efficient.



Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson

told Fox News that he had told Musk and Ramaswamy on Tuesday

that his Republicans hold a narrow 219-211 majority in the House

and will not control the Senate until next month. He said the

bill was necessary to keep the government operating until Trump

and his fellow Republicans have full control of Congress and can

fully enact promised bigger spending changes.



"Elon and Vivek and I are on a text chain together, and I

was explaining to them the background of this," he said. "They

understand the situation."



Other Republican lawmakers voiced opposition to the bill,

which must pass by Friday night in order to prevent a partial

shutdown that would start on Saturday unless Congress acts.



The tentative deal would likely keep the roughly $6.2

trillion federal budget at its current level, and includes

$100.4 billion in fresh disaster aid as well as $10 billion in

economic aid for farmers.