Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke out about Elon Musk’s impact on the spending situation in Capitol Hill on Thursday.
“If you’re not up to date: the Republican Party, under the influence of the wealthiest man in the world, is heading towards a government shutdown over the holidays, jeopardizing pay for our military and nutrition assistance for low-income families just before Christmas,” the 2016 presidential candidate expressed on X.
Clinton, a former first lady and senator, served in Congress from 2001 to 2009.
Her remarks coincided with the release of a new version of a continuing resolution (CR) by House Speaker Mike Johnson to keep the government operational beyond a Friday night deadline.
Former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton sounded off about Elon Musk’s influence over the spending drama on Capitol Hill on Thursday. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Musk strongly opposed the original spending deal negotiated by Johnson with Democrats, threatening support for primary challenges against any Republican who voted for it.
If a viable deal is not reached to extend the government funding deadline to March and continue spending at 2024 levels, a partial shutdown will occur at midnight on Saturday.
‘HELL NO’: HOUSE DEMS ERUPT OVER GOP SPENDING DEAL
However, House Democrats are hesitating to support the latest version of the spending plan. With a $36 trillion in debt and a $1.8 trillion deficit in 2024, some conservatives oppose a CR that delays the funding deadline to March and maintains spending at 2024 levels.
“The Musk-Johnson proposal is not serious, it’s laughable. Extreme MAGA Republicans are driving us to a government shutdown,” stated House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., indicated that Democratic leadership would urge their members to vote “no” on the deal.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., lamented that the previous deal was undermined by opposition from conservatives, with input from DOGE leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
“Everybody agreed,” he said, “and then it was blown up by Elon Musk, who apparently has become the fourth branch of government. And that’s just an intolerable way of proceeding.”
“Democrats are going to try to figure out how we can salvage the public good as the wreckage that’s just been pushed.”
Chants of “hell no” could be heard inside the room where Democrats were meeting after the bill’s text was released.
Elon Musk threatened to support primary challenges to anyone who voted for the CR. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
HERE’S WHAT HAPPENS DURING A PARTIAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
The new continuing resolution (CR) would extend current government funding levels for three months and suspend the debt limit for two years, as demanded by President-elect Trump.
This comes after the initial 1,500-page CR faced opposition from the right due to policy and funding provisions.
House legislators may vote on the new bill as soon as Thursday evening.
It remains to be seen if the new deal will be approved – Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who also led opposition to the original bill, criticized the new agreement.
“More debt. More government. Increasing the Credit Card $4 trillion with ZERO spending restraint and cuts. HARD NO,” Roy stated on X.
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