Speaker Mike Johnson scrambled to craft the last-minute bill to avoid a government shutdown after Trump and Musk tanked his initial plan as the clock ticks down on Friday’s deadline.
But the new bill backed by the tech billionaire failed spectacularly 174 to 235 with hard-right Republicans joining nearly every Democrat to vote against it in the GOP-controlled House.
The 11th hour spending deal put forward by Republicans was just 116 pages, unlike the nearly 1,600-page bill that had previously been negotiated before Trump and Musk tanked it.
Late Wednesday, Trump demanded that bill, which he called a ‘nasty trap’ set by Democrats, be renegotiated.
He also warned House Republicans against supporting the bloated measure including a pay raise for Congress, additional disaster spending and other unrelated spending measures.
Earlier in the day, Trump had harsher words for Johnson, giving him a clear ultimatum if the speaker wanted to stay in power.
Billionaire Musk, who is heading up Trump’s DOGE agency with Vivek Ramaswamy, led the charge to slap down the bill he called a ‘piece of pork.’
He went so far as to threaten any Republican who votes for the measure, saying they’ll be fired from Congress next election.
‘Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!’ he wrote on X.
Later Musk wrote the successfully 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ed the speaker’s bill, something later confirmed by Trump and House GOP leadership: ‘Your elected representatives have heard you and now the terrible bill is dead. The voice of the people has triumphed!’
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said the Constitution does not require the speaker to be a member of Congress, opening the door for fresh blood.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said she is ‘open to supporting’ Paul’s proposal.