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The text of the new spending plan, known as a continuing resolution (CR), was released on Tuesday just days before the deadline. The package largely provides for the government to continue to spend at current levels for the next three months, giving the newly elected Congress time to work on more permanent federal funding. The 1,547-page bill includes a pay raise for lawmakers, $100 billion for disaster relief funding and $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers, numerous provisions including foreign investment restrictions and new health care policies, among other authorizations.
US Republicans balked at the proposed package right after its release, slamming it as being too bloated and full of Democratic policy priorities. Tesla and SpaceX owner Elon Musk - pitched by Trump as the head of his new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a panel charged with finding ways to slash federal spending - launched an entire campaign against the package on X.
"This bill should not pass," Musk wrote early on Wednesday, repeatedly posting different versions of this call throughout the day and late into the night, making a total of more than 60 updates. He decried the bill as "criminal," "outrageous," "unconscionable," and ultimately "one of the worst bills ever written." Musk's tirade sparked a virtual flashmob of disapproving statements regarding the bill, which culminated with condemnation by Donald Trump, who called it full of "Democrat giveaways."
"Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH. If Democrats threaten to shut down the government unless we give them everything they want, then CALL THEIR BLUFF," he said in a joint statement with Vice President-elect JD Vance, posted on his TruthSocial account.
Many observers noted that it was unusual for the incoming president and his team to tip the scales on legislation before officially coming into power. CNN and The Washington Post reported late on Wednesday that the bill had been killed, with Musk confirming it in yet another post on X.
"Your elected representatives have heard you, and now the terrible bill is dead. The voice of the people has triumphed!" he wrote, adding in another post that "no bills should be passed Congress until January 20," when Trump takes office.
It is currently unclear whether House Speaker Mike Johnson, who spearheaded the failed bill, will be able to come up with an alternative before Friday's deadline. According to The Hill's sources, Johnson could propose a "clean" CR, which would entail dropping the additional provisions included in the package, such as disaster aid and assistance for farmers. However, Johnson has not yet scheduled a vote on the bill.
Reader Comments
Finally, the CR is blocked...
Quote: " We can easily become captured by a belief system that is built on a shaky and flawed foundation. How often do we believe in something, not because we have done in-depth research on it, but because authority figures tell us it is the truth? What if what we believe is just an illusion? "
Covid taught us approx 85% believe the 'safe & effective' orthodoxy....what a crying shame. However we factually know the 'authorities' used psychological mind control via gov. 'nudge units, and 'safe & effective' is a marketing slogan, not science.
Frequently I challenge peoples beliefs, in that I ask them how they came to the conclusions of their beliefs. More times than not I find these folks I ask to examine how they came to such beliefs cannot articulate where they learned it, i.e church, family, school, research etc.
Also many get quite angry when I ask these probing questions and if its on social media they often block me...ha ha. Likely because they realize what they believe is an illusion or worse they have become deluded. Many seem to enjoy living a life of unexamined beliefs & delusions (not me)...The love and light crowd comes to mind...."I see no evil, I speak no evil" etc etc...
A short tale. 4 months ago a prominent lawyer who had friended my over a year ago on FB, made a post trying to identify how to tell a male vs female cannabis plant. I said I had 50 years experience, and that the pic he posted was a male and to pull it as it could pollinate neighbours plants. He stated publicly that I was not credible and not to be trusted because I was a 'conspiracy theorist' etc etc. I sent him a DM and said show me where I ever floated an actual conspiracy theory, or retract his defamatory statements and offer a public apology. I gave him 48 hrs and said, did you miss the law class on slander/libel? To his credit he saw the error of his ways and did post a retraction and a lengthy apology, clearly stating he had NEVER once looked at the extensive 'references' I added to my posts. Of course he is a devout leftist. LOL....
I sincerely hope you and yours have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !
"Also many get quite angry when I ask these probing questions and if its on social media they often block me". This is an interesting phenomena. The anger is what Gurdjieff calls a "buffer", because it prevents the person from seeing themselves that they are wrong. It exposes that their identity is not one.
Merry Christmas regardless of what happens next.
My friend explained she was highly educated with a PhD in Poetry/Literature etc etc, to which I responded. A PhD = Piled High & Deep, and does not denote intelligence/IQ, which he 100% agreed with.
Hi lengthy message was quite cordial and he ended with this metaphor/memory. It rings true, I said.
"My mom gave me some great advice when I was in my early teens. I was full of inspiration from some hippie philosophy books that I’d read, and was being ridiculed by the Quadra kids. She said “babies need their sleep. Try to wake them up, and they’ll just kick and scream.”
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas
Meanwhile real farmers are having a hard time of it.