Senate Democrat Vows to Stop Elon Musk from Running the Government!

On Friday, Congressional Democrats escalated their criticism against billionaire Elon Musk and President-elect Donald Trump, accusing them of causing a last-minute panic to avert a government shutdown right before the holiday season.

“Even if it means staying until Christmas, we’re not going to allow Elon Musk to dictate government policy,” declared Patty Murray, the Senate Appropriations Committee Chair from Washington, in a statement on Friday. “It’s unacceptable to let an unelected billionaire cut pediatric cancer research funding for his tax breaks or undermine policies that enable the U.S. to outpace China, just to protect his own financial interests.”

“We had a bipartisan agreement—we need to honor it. This agreement would fund the government responsibly, provide crucial disaster relief nationwide, and enact meaningful bipartisan policy changes,” she continued. “The American public does not favor disruption or an expensive government shutdown simply because a billionaire wishes to take control—I am eager to collaborate with both Republicans and Democrats to enact this bipartisan agreement as swiftly as possible.”

According to Jeff Stein of the Washington Post, the White House Office of Management and Budget is instructing federal agencies to brace for a shutdown if Congress fails to act by midnight, potentially starting immediately.

After Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the two billionaires Trump appointed to lead his soon-to-be-established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), opposed the initial bipartisan agreement on Wednesday, the President-elect quickly aligned himself with them. This prompted progressive commentators to label Musk, the wealthiest individual globally, a “shadow president” a month before the swearing-in ceremony.

Faced with this resistance and Trump’s abrupt demand to include a debt ceiling increase in the continuing resolution, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) convened a vote on Thursday night on a bill that would meet this requirement and fund the government for three more months. However, it was voted down by 38 Republicans and all but two Democrats.

On Thursday evening, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, publicly criticized Musk on his social media platform, X, asserting that “Congress must not capitulate to detached billionaires.”

After opposing the so-called American Relief Act (H.R. 10515) on Thursday, Congresswoman Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) stated, “We had a deal. A bipartisan, negotiated continuing resolution. But then the Republican billionaires—Trump and Musk—stepped in, and the Republicans showed us who they truly serve.”

“Over the past 48 hours, Republicans have once more proven that their priorities are those of corporate billionaires and big-money politics,” she added. “To satisfy their superiors, they’re sacrificing the health care of vulnerable Americans, cutting funding for children’s research, making prescription drugs less affordable for the elderly, and much more.”

“As they lay the foundation for further enriching the wealthy via tax cuts in the 119th Congress,” Ramirez alerted, “if Republicans want to enrich the wealthy at the expense of the poor and the sick, they’ll have to do it without my support. I serve everyday Americans, not billionaires. I voted NO.”

With a shutdown looming in less than 12 hours, Senate Democrats are pointing fingers at Johnson, who is moving to Plan C: proposing three separate votes on “a short-term funding bill, money for recent natural disasters, and a one-year farm bill extension with aid for farmers,” as reported by Politico.

According to the news outlet:

Johnson’s new strategy will test his leadership as he tries to unite his party members. It is believed that Johnson is pushing the proposal through the Rules Committee to pass it by a simple majority on the House floor. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), a committee member, has expressed his support, which should help the plan advance out of committee.

However, achieving consensus for a floor debate, known as voting for the rule, can be challenging. Democrats typically do not support such rules and are reluctant to assist Republicans after they reneged on a bipartisan funding deal earlier this week.

“Republicans have a majority in the House—they should be able to pass anything they want. If they need our votes, they must negotiate,” said Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the outgoing chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, on Friday. “That’s exactly what we did, and we reached a bipartisan agreement. But then they squandered it because of a billionaire’s tweet. It’s absurd.”

The threat of a shutdown arrives as Republicans are poised to take control of not just the White House but both chambers of Congress next year.

Jake Sherman, founder of Punchbowl News, reported on a GOP leadership meeting held on Friday where a slide displayed a debt ceiling agreement proposal to “raise the debt limit by $1.5 trillion in the ‘first reconciliation package’ while pledging to CUT $2.5 trillion in ‘net mandatory spending during the reconciliation process.'”

Social Security Works responded to Sherman’s report by noting that “the ONLY WAY to cut $2.5 trillion in spending is by slashing Social Security, Medicare, and/or Medicaid. Republicans aim to pilfer our benefits to fund tax cuts for billionaires.”