Mike Johnson Faces Growing GOP Backlash As Elon Musk Calls For Government Shutdown | EUROtoday

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) discovered himself in more and more scorching water Wednesday as his Republican colleagues threatened to dump him over his authorities funding plan ― which he appeared to desert amid the backlash.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) instructed reporters he received’t help Johnson when the House elects its speaker subsequent month. Given the slim majority Republicans will maintain within the House, Johnson can solely afford to lose a single vote if he needs to carry on to the speaker’s gavel.

Tech billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, whom Johnson embraced as avatars of presidency effectivity, launched a fusillade of criticism on the spending invoice, which might fund the federal authorities into March, present tens of billions of {dollars} in catastrophe support and likewise give lawmakers a pay increase. (Ramaswamy is an investor in HuffPost’s mother or father firm, BuzzFeed.)

“This bill is criminal,” Musk wrote in a single of dozens of posts on social media urging the general public to name their representatives to demand a “no” vote. He additionally stated “YES” in response to a submit suggesting that Congress simply “close down” the federal government till President-elect Donald Trump takes workplace.

Musk declared the invoice “dead” round 4 p.m. Wednesday. During the day, he posted or highlighted social media posts a number of instances that incorrectly described provisions within the invoice.

For instance, Musk posted to 207 million followers a message that stated language within the invoice to switch the maintenance, however not possession, of land in Washington, D.C., the place the shuttered RFK Stadium sits would value the federal government $3 billion. But based on the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, it could value zero to the federal government.

If Congress doesn’t transfer, authorities funding will run out on Friday at midnight, leading to a shutdown of the federal authorities. It’s not clear when or if the House will vote on the invoice, although social gathering leaders signaled that no votes could be taking place Wednesday night. Politico reported that Johnson may drop the catastrophe support and different provisions in favor of a “clean” funding invoice.

It’s no shock that far-right House Republicans would oppose a stopgap authorities funding invoice, particularly one with additional provisions hooked up. The invoice was at all times going to want Democratic votes so as to clear the House. But with Musk and Ramaswamy weighing in from the sidelines, the opposition appeared louder than traditional on Wednesday, and the threats to vote in opposition to Johnson for speaker subsequent month extra severe than final time.

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), a member of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, set his personal situation about whom he would help for speaker: “I’m not voting for anybody that will repeat this travesty that we’ve had.”

Norman stated it could be useful if Trump would weigh in on the measure. “President Trump carries a lot of weight,” he stated.

Later on Wednesday, Vice President-elect JD Vance posted an announcement from himself and Trump criticizing the laws. Vance demanded that lawmakers strip the pay increase and different provisions, however embrace the catastrophe support and help for farmers. He additionally referred to as for a rise within the nation’s borrowing restrict ― a controversial concept that Republicans sometimes use to demand concessions from Democrats, quite than one thing for Democrats to concede to Republicans.

“Republicans want to support our farmers, pay for disaster relief, and set our country up for success in 2025,” Vance’s assertion learn. “The only way to do that is with a temporary funding bill WITHOUT DEMOCRAT GIVEAWAYS combined with an increase in the debt ceiling.”

The debt ceiling demand immediately made the funding standoff extra sophisticated than it already was. There had been little dialogue in current weeks concerning the debt ceiling, which received’t should be raised till someday within the early months of 2025.

Democrats accused Musk and Trump of primarily pushing for a authorities shutdown.

“House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government. And hurt the working class Americans they claim to support,” House Democratic chief Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) stated in an announcement. “You break the bipartisan agreement, you own the consequences that follow.”

Other Democrats mocked Republicans for performing as Musk’s puppets.

“It increasingly seems like we’re in for 4 years of an unelected oligarch running the country by pulling on his puppet’s strings,” Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) wrote on social media.

It’s not fully clear if the push from Musk and Ramaswamy would alter the result of a vote on the federal government funding invoice, which is called a unbroken decision, or CR.

“Anybody it would influence would probably be people that would always vote no,” Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.), chair of the House Agriculture Committee, instructed HuffPost. “I find that people that tweet a lot are trying to be relevant.”

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who sometimes votes in opposition to CRs, urged the dynamic amongst Republicans has not modified on account of outdoors stress.

“I welcome Elon to the fight,” Burchett stated. “We’ve been doing this for a long time. I spoke out against it yesterday.”

Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), the chief of the House Freedom Caucus, stated the discontent is just not restricted to his group of libertarian and hard-right conservatives.

“I think the speaker could have handled this differently,” he stated at a press convention on subsequent yr’s legislative agenda. “At this point, I’m still supportive of the speaker, but I will tell you that voices, both inside the House Freedom Caucus and outside the Freedom Caucus, have been very disappointed at what’s happened.”

Johnson’s margin already appeared skinny after Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) stated she wouldn’t tackle committee slots or caucus with House Republicans within the upcoming Congress, although she would retain her Republican affiliation.

Spartz stated she’s annoyed by how the legislative course of works, and that she thinks an excessive amount of energy has been handed over to congressional social gathering leaders on the expense of run-of-the-mill members comparable to herself.

In an look on “CNN This Morning” on Wednesday, she stated she was uncertain if she would vote for Johnson for speaker once more.

“I haven’t decided yet,” Spartz stated. “I’ll be honest with you. Mike is a very nice human being. He’s a brilliant person. Does he have a chance to reform this institution that is broken? I am not sure.”