BURSTSpeaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he talked to billionaire Elon Musk about the 1,500-page government funding deal after Musk voiced his opposition to the bill, and that the incoming Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief understands the “impossible” position the Speaker is in.
Musk on Wednesday morning posted on his social platform, X: “This bill should not pass” and “Ever seen a bigger piece of pork?”
Asked about that opposition, Johnson said he had talked to Musk and his DOGE partner Vivek Ramaswamy on Tuesday night about their concerns.
“I was communicating with Elon last night,” Johnson said on Fox News on Wednesday morning. “Elon, Vivek [Ramaswamy] and I were on a text chain together, and I was explaining to them the background of this. And Vivek and I talked last night, about almost midnight, and he said, ‘Look, I get it.’ He said, 'We understand you're in an impossible position. Everybody knows that.’”
“Remember, guys, we still have just a razor-thin margin of Republicans. So any bill has to have Democratic votes,” Johnson said. “They understand the situation. He said, ‘It's not directed to you, Mr. Speaker, but we don't like the spending.’ I said, ‘Guess what, fellas, I don't either.”
The bill unveiled Tuesday evening combines a continuation of government funding through March 14 with a number of add-ons, including disaster assistance for hurricanes damage and farmers; a health care deal that includes reforms to the pharmacy benefit manager industry; an extension of the farm bill; and a provision that could set the stage for the Washington Commanders to return to playing their home games in D.C. instead of Maryland.
While many hard-line conservatives had called for a stopgap until after President-elect Trump takes office so he could enact lower funding levels than what President Biden would sign into law, many Republicans are fuming at Johnson over the number of add-ons in the bill.
“It’s not a CR, which is a continuation of the budget. It’s turning into an omnibus,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said Tuesday.
Johnson argued that despite the drawbacks in the bill, it sets the stage for more conservative spending levels under Trump.
“We've got to get this done, because here's the key: By doing this, we are clearing the decks, and we are setting up for Trump to come in roaring back with America first agenda that's we're going to run with gusto beginning Jan. 3, when we start the new Congress, when Republicans again are in control,” Johnson said. “And all of our fiscal conservative friends — I'm one of them — will be able to finally do the things that we've been wanting to do the last couple of years.”