Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sounded off Thursday about Elon Musk’s influence over the spending drama on Capitol Hill.
“If you’re just catching up: the Republican Party, taking orders from the world’s richest man, is on course to shut down the government over the holidays, stopping paychecks for our troops and nutrition benefits for low-income families just in time for Christmas,” the 2016 presidential candidate wrote on X.
Clinton, a former first lady and senator, was in Congress from 2001 to 2009.
Her comments came just as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., released a new version of a continuing resolution, or CR, to keep the government open beyond a Friday night deadline.
Musk came out in strong opposition to the original spending deal Johnson negotiated with Democrats, threatening to back a primary challenge to any Republican who voted for it.
Without a passable deal to kick the government funding deadline to March and continue spending at 2024 levels, the government will go into partial shutdown at midnight Saturday.
But House Democrats are balking at the latest iteration of a spending plan. And with $36 trillion in debt and a $1.8 trillion deficit in 2024, some conservatives are against a CR, which punts the funding deadline to March and keeps spending at 2024 levels, entirely.
“The Musk-Johnson proposal is not serious, it’s laughable. Extreme MAGA Republicans are driving us to a government shutdown,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., conducts his weekly news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C., on May 23. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., indicated Democratic leadership would whip their members to vote “no” on the deal.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., lamented that the last deal had been blown up by opposition from conservatives, with input from Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
“Everybody agreed,” he said, “and then it was blown up by Elon Musk, who apparently has become the fourth branch of government. And that’s just an intolerable way of proceeding.
“Democrats are going to try to figure out how we can salvage the public good as the wreckage that’s just been pushed.”
Chants of “hell no” could be heard inside the room where Democrats were meeting after the bill’s text was released.
Elon Musk threatened to support primary challenges to anyone who voted for the continuing resolution. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The latest continuing resolution would extend current government funding levels for three months and also suspend the debt limit for two years, something President-elect Trump has demanded.
It comes after the original 1,500-page CR drew opposition from the right due to policy and funding riders.
House lawmakers could vote on the new bill as early as Thursday evening.
It’s not immediately clear if the new deal would pass. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who led opposition to the initial bill, also blasted the new deal.
“More debt. More government. Increasing the Credit Card $4 trillion with ZERO spending restraint and cuts. HARD NO,” Roy wrote on X.
Here’s what happens during a partial government shutdown
When the federal government shuts its doors, Americans get a glimpse at a long-debated question in Washington: How much government is too much? Here’s what happens during a partial government shutdown, which typically happens when Congress has failed to pass new bills authorizing spending.
Federal agencies and services deemed “nonessential” can expect to halt their operations, while “essential” services continue to function. Examples of “essential” agencies include national security, Border Patrol, law enforcement, disaster response and more.
What’s more, funding for certain programs, like Social Security, and some agencies such as the Postal Service operate separately from the yearly appropriations process.
A shutdown lasting less than two weeks would likely have minimal impact, as federal employees would still receive their paychecks on schedule. Longer shutdowns, meanwhile, are usually accompanied by retroactive pay for government workers and congressional staff. As a result, the actual effects of a shutdown tend to be far less severe than how it’s typically described.
Partial government shutdowns can also be seen as an opportunity by some lawmakers to address unsustainable federal spending. The U.S. national debt exceeds $35 trillion, and many argue that allowing the government to function indefinitely without addressing wasteful spending is irresponsible. Shutdowns can thus force Congress to make decisions about funding priorities and eliminate bloated programs.
The federal government’s fiscal year runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, requiring Congress to pass a set of appropriations bills by the end of September to fund operations. If Congress fails to act, legal safeguards prevent executive agencies from spending money without legislative approval, effectively limiting government functions.
The annual congressional budget process begins in early February, when the president submits a budget proposal to Congress, offering recommendations for federal spending across all areas of government.
U.S. Postal Service operations would continue as usual even in a partial government shutdown. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
By mid-April, Congress is expected to adopt a budget resolution that establishes overall spending limits and guidelines. Throughout late spring and summer, House and Senate Appropriations Committees work on drafting 12 bills to allocate funding for specific federal agencies and programs. These bills must be passed by Congress by Sept. 30 to prevent a partial government shutdown.
The deadline to pass a continuing resolution (CR), which is a temporary funding patch, is 11:59:59 p.m. ET on Friday. Without one, the federal government enters a partial shutdown on Saturday.
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