[Karah Rucker]

THE INITIAL GOVERNMENT SPENDING PACKAGE TO PREVENT A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN DIED WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

15 HUNDRED PAGES – SCRAPPED –

AS LAWMAKERS START ANEW.

SO WHY THE COLLAPSE OF A SPENDING BILL THAT REPUBLICAN HOUSE SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON WAS ARGUING HAD TO PASS?

THE ANSWER DIFFERED AMONG NEWS OUTLETS.

LEFT-LEANING NEWS OUTLETS LARGELY SAY ELON MUSK LED THE CHARGE TO KILL THE BILL.

WITH RIGHT-LEANING NEWS OUTLETS SUGGESTING IT WAS TRUMP AND MUSK AS PART OF A LARGER REVOLT BY A UNIFIED REPUBLICAN PARTY.

HERE’S HOW SOME LEFT-LEANING NEWS OUTLETS SET UP THE STORY.

MSNBC’S HEADLINE – “UNELECTED PRESIDENT MUSK”. ELON POSTS 70 TIMES TRASHING GOP BILL, TRUMP CAVES.”

THE DAILY BEAST – DEMOCRATS TROLL “VICE PRESIDENT TRUMP” AS MUSK CALLS THE SHOTS.

NBC – “Elon Musk leads charge to kill spending bill”

IN CONTRAST – HERE’S HOW SOME RIGHT-LEANING NEWS OUTLETS HEADLINED THEIR COVERAGE OF THE BILL BEING NIXED.

THE NEW YORK POST – “Bloated federal funding bill is scrapped after Trump-boosted revolt”

FOX NEWS – House GOP leaders scramble for Plan B after Trump, Musk lead conservative fury against spending bill

AND THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER – Scalise confirms spending deal is ‘dead’ after mass GOP revolt.

MUSK DID MAKE HIS OPPOSITION WELL KNOWN – AND PUBLIC –

BY END OF DAY WEDNESDAY – HE HAD POSTED ON X MORE THAN 100 TIMES.

IN THE POLITICAL REALM –

THERE WAS A LOT OF NOISE WEDNESDAY AS LAWMAKERS WERE UNDER A 72 HOUR TIMER BEFORE THE BILL WAS EXPECTED TO BE BROUGHT TO A VOTE –

THAT WAS BEFORE THE BILL WAS KILLED LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT –

AFTER VICE PRESIDENT ELECT JD VANCE MET WITH SPEAKER JOHNSON FOR ABOUT AN HOUR BEHIND CLOSED DOORS.

MUSK WASN’T THE ONLY ONE PUBLICLY CALLING FOR AN END TO THE SPENDING PACKAGE.

PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP AND JD VANCE RELEASED A JOINT STATEMENT CALLING ON REPUBLICANS NOT TO APPROVE THE SPENDING.

TRUMP ALSO TOOK TO TRUTH SOCIAL IN OPPOSITION.

BOTH MUSK AND TRUMP SAYING IN SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS THAT ANY REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMEMBER WHO VOTED FOR THE PACKAGE – SHOULD BE VOTED OUT OF OFFICE. 

VIVEK RAMASWAMY, WHO IS PARTNERING WITH MUSK TO LEAD TRUMP’S NEW 

“DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY” – OR DOGE – SAYS HE READ THE 15 HUNDRED PAGES OVERNIGHT ON TUESDAY – AND ALSO CAME OUT AGAINST THE MEASURE EARLY WEDNESDAY.

PROMINENT HOUSE REPUBLICANS – LIKE MARJORY TAYLOR GREENE, ERIC BURLISON, CHIP ROY, MIKE LAWLER – ALSO WERE AMONG THOSE WHO EXPRESSED EARLY DISDAIN OVER THE SPENDING BILL.

THESE G-O-P LAWMAKERS ARGUED THE BILL WAS TOO BLOATED AT A TIME WHEN THE PARTY IS VOWING TO PRIORITIZE “CUTTING GOVERNMENT WASTE” UNDER TRUMP’S SECOND TERM – INCLUDING HELP FROM DOGE.

MUSK’S ROLE IN HEADING DOGE – HAS INSERTED HIS VOICE IN THE POLITICAL ARENA – WHICH TRUMP AND THE GOP PARTY HAVE LARGELY EMBRACED.

BUT SOME DEMOCRATS ARE SUGGESTING THE BILLIONAIRE’S VOICE – IS OVERPOWERING.

DAN GOLDMAN OF NEW YORK –

POSTING THIS MESSAGE ON X –

the shadow PresIDENT-Elect, Elon Musk is now calling the shots for House REPUBLICANs on government funding while Trump hides in Mar-a-Lago behind his handlers. 

It increasingly seems like we’re in for 4 years of an unelected oligarch running the country by pulling on his puppet’s strings.

https://x.com/BernieSanders/status/1869542400059899957

AND BERNIE SANDERS OF VERMONT SAYING ON X –

The US Congress this week came to an agreement to fund our government.

Elon Musk, who became $200 BILLION richer since Trump was elected, objected.

Are Republicans beholden to the American people? Or President Musk?

This is oligarchy at work.

SPEAKER JOHNSON DEFENDED THE BILL WHEN HE INTRODUCED IT, TELLING FOX NEWS CUTTING GOVERNMENT WASTE WILL HAVE TO START WITH THE NEW CONGRESS IN JANUARY –

CALLING IT AN “IMPOSSIBLE POSITION.”

JOHNSON ARGUED THE GOVERNMENT DIDN’T HAVE A CHOICE BUT TO PUSH THE BILL THROUGH TO ENSURE CERTAIN PARTS OF THE GOVERNMENT REMAIN FUNDED AND DON’T SHUT DOWN FRIDAY IF NO DEAL IS REACHED.

BUT THAT WAS EARLY WEDNESDAY.

NOW – 

JOHNSON IS GOING BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD.

AND HIS SUPPORT FOR THE ORIGINAL BILL –

HAS SOME WITHIN HIS OWN PARTY QUESTIONING WHETHER HE’S THE RIGHT GUY TO LEAD THE CHAMBER AS SPEAKER.

TRUMP – ALSO WEIGHING IN ON THOSE WHISPERS.

SAYING AS LONG AS JOHNSON “ACTS DECISIVELY AND TOUGH” AND “ELIMINATES TRAPS SET BY DEMOCRATS” –

THEN JOHNSON WILL “EASILY REMAIN SPEAKER.”

AS FRIDAY REMAINS TO BE THE DEADLINE FOR CONGRESS TO REACH AN AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT SPENDING TO AVERT A SHUTDOWN –

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