President-elect Donald Trump is leading a fiery charge against the proposed Continuing Resolution (CR) spending bill, which is riddled with wasteful expenditures, dangerous policy provisions, and an unsustainable approach to government funding.
In a statement Wednesday, Trump lambasted the bill as a “nasty trap” set by Democrats, urging Republicans to reject it and threatening primary challenges for any GOP lawmakers who support its passage. The CR would temporarily extend current government funding levels through March 14, 2025, while approving hundreds of billions in spending to avert a government shutdown looming this Friday.
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“Any Republican that would be so stupid as to do this should, and will, be Primaried,” Trump warned. “Everything should be done, and fully negotiated, prior to my taking Office on January 20th, 2025.”
Elon Musk, co-head of the president-elect’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), echoed Trump’s sentiments. Musk, who has been a vocal critic of government overspending, called the CR a “criminal bill” and accused lawmakers of betraying American taxpayers.
“Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years,” Musk wrote on X (formerly Twitter). He hinted at using his personal fortune to fund primary challenges against incumbents who support the legislation. Musk was the largest individual political donor of the 2024 cycle, contributing over $277 million to help elect Trump and other Republicans.
DOGE co-chair Vivek Ramaswamy also weighed in, urging Americans to contact their representatives and oppose the bill. In a viral TikTok video, Ramaswamy highlighted provisions he said were hidden in the bill, including pay raises for Congress, expanded health benefits for lawmakers, funding for a new stadium in Washington, D.C., and the renewal of the Global Engagement Center, which he labeled a “censorship industrial complex.”
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“Congress is about to pass a bill that blows away your taxpayer money, but they made it over 1,500 pages long so you wouldn’t read it,” Ramaswamy said. “Feel free to call your congressman and let them know how you feel about it.”
Conservative Republicans in Congress have aligned with Trump and DOGE in opposing the CR, arguing that it undermines efforts to cut government waste and reduce the federal deficit.
“Lots of folks here in Congress are eager to celebrate DOGE’s mission—yet they’ll turn around and vote for the Swamp’s status quo of deficit spending,” Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) posted on X.
Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) praised Musk’s intervention, calling it a long-overdue change in the political dynamic. “In five years in Congress, I’ve been awaiting a fundamental change in the dynamic. It has arrived,” Bishop wrote in response to Musk’s call to action.
Trump emphasized that passing the CR without addressing the looming debt ceiling issue, set to expire in June, would be a grave error. “Unless the Democrats terminate or substantially extend [the debt ceiling] now, I will fight ‘till the end,” Trump said, accusing Democrats of setting a political trap for Republicans.
Musk supported the notion of rejecting the CR outright, arguing that a government shutdown is preferable to passing a flawed bill. “‘Shutting down’ the government (which doesn’t actually shut down critical functions btw) is infinitely better than passing a horrible bill,” Musk wrote on X.
With time running out before Friday’s deadline, House Republicans face mounting pressure from both Trump-aligned conservatives and Democrats. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) criticized Republicans for the impasse, calling the potential government shutdown a result of GOP “political malpractice.”
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As lawmakers weigh their options, Trump’s allies are preparing for a prolonged fight, urging Republicans to stand firm against what they view as an unacceptable continuation of Washington’s “Swamp” politics. With the president-elect and DOGE leading the charge, the stakes for the GOP have rarely been higher.
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