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The Regime Media went into full meltdown mode over the death of the 1500-page cromnibus bill that went down in flames once DOGE chairs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy became aware of some of the bill’s provisions. D.C. media reacted at the very un-D.C. pressure placed upon the cromnibus with equal parts shock and horror.

Watch as CBS’s Norah O’Donnell leads off the Evening News with the kind of overwrought and manipulative editorial most typically on ABC:

CBS EVENING NEWS

12/18/24

6:31 PM

NORAH O’DONNELL: It is quite a night of news because America is two days away from a government shutdown unless Congress acts soon. That means millions of government workers and military members could be without a paycheck days before the holidays. And it’s quite a reversal since where we started just this morning. The House of Representatives appeared to be on the verge of approving a last-minute bipartisan plan. But tonight, it is imploding. As we seem to be witnessing the growing influence of the world’s richest man, unelected tech billionaire Elon Musk spent the day repeatedly and publicly calling on Republicans to vote no and called for those who support the plan to be voted out of office. Then President-Elect Donald Trump weighed in, also urging a “No” vote, and then within hours, Musk declared the deal dead. There is a lot to get to and it concerns your tax dollars, your government, and your election officials.

The fact that the media are so horrified by Elon’s influence with the Trump team in killing the cromnibus seems to suggest that they’re on the right path. As the saying goes, the hit dog hollers the loudest.

On the one hand, outgoing CBS anchor Norah O’Donnell’s intro to the report was clearly the worst. On the other, Nikole Killion’s video package was the most transparent in detailing some of the excesses of the CR:

NIKOLE KILLION: The stopgap measure would keep the government operational through March of next year, and includes more than $100 billion in disaster relief for Hurricane Helene and Milton victims and $10 billion in direct aid for farmers. But it’s also padded with plenty of extras, from funding for the fallen Baltimore Key Bridge, to health care extensions, authorization for a new Washington Commanders football stadium, and a pay bump for Congress.

ABC and NBC do not go into this depth of detail. In addition to the aforementioned extras, the CR sought to protect the January 6th Committee from investigation, and continued to fund the government censorship apparatus. 

ABC’s Mary Bruce, her Biden-Harris apple polishing days soon coming to an end, followed O’Donnell’s lead in driving up the shutdown hysterics:

MARY BRUCE: If Congress doesn’t pass the bill by Saturday and the government shuts down, millions of federal workers could head into the holidays without paychecks. Some will be furloughed, others asked to work without pay. That includes some members of the military, and other critical government workers like TSA agents and air traffic controllers, just as the holiday travel craze begins.

Remaining coverage all around was consistently the same, consistently featuring the soon-to-be-released House Ethics report on Matt Gaetz in the same schadenfreudy style. 

We are 33 days away from the Second Trump Inaugural, but in many ways it feels like he’s already in charge. The media’s reaction to the end of the 1500-page Cromnibus attests to that.

Click “”expand” to view the full transcripts of the aforementioned reports as aired on their respective network newscasts on Wednesday, December 18th, 2024:

ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT

12/18/24

6:38 PM

DAVID MUIR: We continue tonight, and to The Hill. The showdown brewing over a looming government shutdown right before Christmas. And now, Elon Musk with a power play of sorts. Now threatening members of Congress himself, saying anyone who votes for this new bipartisan spending bill that would keep the government open, quote, “deserves to be voted out in two years”. Tonight, President-Elect Trump now weighing in, and here’s Mary Bruce.

MARY BRUCE: Tonight, after a relentless pressure campaign from billionaire Elon Musk, Washington is now barrelling towards a possible government shutdown, just days before Christmas. Musk calling a shutdown “infinitely better than passing a horrible bill,” threatening any lawmaker that votes for it deserved to be voted out. The bipartisan deal that would keep the government up and running for three months was brokered by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson.

MIKE JOHNSON: We’ve got to get this done, because here’s the key. By doing this, we are clearing the decks and we are setting up for Trump to come in, roaring back, with the America First agenda.

BRUCE: But this morning, Musk, who President-Elect Donald Trump has tapped to lead a new department on government efficiency, posted on X, “This spending bill is a crime.” The bill would fund the government through mid-March. Among other things, it includes $100 billion in disaster relief, and billions more in assistance for farmers. But Musk says it’s also bloated with wasteful spending. Republican leaders today caught off guard by Musk’s pressure play.

JOHN THUNE: There’ll be a lot of hard votes in the next couple of years, and it’s not always going to be the case that the outside world, the social media audience is going to be weighing in.

BRUCE: If Congress doesn’t pass the bill by Saturday and the government shuts down, millions of federal workers could head into the holidays without paychecks. Some will be furloughed, others asked to work without pay. That includes some members of the military, and other critical government workers like TSA agents and air traffic controllers, just as the holiday travel craze begins. Late today, Trump finally weighing in, criticizing the bill without telling Republicans exactly what to do, urging them to get smart and tough. But Democrats tonight are blunt.

HAKEEM JEFFRIES: House Republicans will now own any harm that is visited upon the American people that results from a government shutdown or worse.

BRUCE: And David, another headline here tonight. The House Ethics Committee has quietly voted to release its report on former Congressman Matt Gaetz, Donald Trump’s first pick to be Attorney General. They’ve been investigating him for sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. Gaetz saying in a statement, in part, quote: “in my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated. Even some I never dated but who asked. I never had sexual contact with someone under 18… It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now.” David.

MUIR: Mary Bruce, live at The Hill tonight. Mary, thank you.

CBS EVENING NEWS

12/18/24

6:31 PM

NORAH O’DONNELL: It is quite a night of news because America is two days away from a government shutdown unless Congress acts soon. That means millions of government workers and military members could be without a paycheck days before the holidays. And it’s quite a reversal since where we started just this morning. The House of Representatives appeared to be on the verge of approving a last-minute bipartisan plan. But tonight, it is imploding. As we seem to be witnessing the growing influence of the world’s richest man, unelected tech billionaire Elon Musk spent the day repeatedly and publicly calling on Republicans to vote no and called for those who support the plan to be voted out of office. Then President-Elect Donald Trump weighed in, also urging a “No” vote, and then within hours, Musk declared the deal dead. There is a lot to get to and it concerns your tax dollars, your government, and your election officials. CBS’s Nikole Killion is going to lead us off from Capitol Hill to explain all that’s happening up there. Good evening, Nikole. All right, where does this bill stand right now?

NIKOLE KILLION: Hey, good evening to you, Norah. Well, a lot of folks want to know that, but I can tell you that all of these developments have really sent Capitol Hill into a tailspin. This bill came out just about 24 hours ago, and now it appears on the brink of collapse. Tonight, chaos in Congress, with Vice President-Elect JD Vance on Capitol Hill, telling lawmakers what to do.

JD VANCE: Well, what the president believes is we should support a clean CR so long as it contains a debt limit increase.

KILLION: It follows an intense pressure campaign on X by none other than its own CEO, Elon Musk. The billionaire tapped to co-lead a commission on government efficiency posted more than 100 times since the early morning hours. He bashed the 1500-page bill as pork, warning “this bill should not pass.”

MIKE JOHNSON: Elon and Vivek and I are on a text chain together. They understand this situation. They said, “it’s not directed to you, Mr. Speaker. But we don’t like the spending.” I said, “guess what, fellas, I don’t either.”

KILLION: The stopgap measure would keep the government operational through March of next year, and includes more than $100 billion in disaster relief for Hurricane Helene and Milton victims and $10 billion in direct aid for farmers. But it’s also padded with plenty of extras, from funding for the fallen Baltimore Key Bridge, to health care extensions, authorization for a new Washington Commanders football stadium, and a pay bump for Congress.

ANNA PAULINA LUNA: Look, this is a [bleep] Sandwich, I don’t know how else to say that.

KAT CAMMACK: It is absolutely bloated pork barrel spending.

KILLION: Several hard-line Republicans blame Speaker Johnson for conceding too much to Democrats, even threatening not to support him for the post next year.

THOMAS MASSIE: I’m not voting for him.

KILLION: Meantime, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries fired back.

HAKEEM JEFFRIES: House Republicans have been ordered to shut down the government and hurt everyday Americans, all across this country.

KILLION: Some members are pushing for a clean continuing resolution without any extras. However, at this point, members have been advised that there will be no votes tonight. Norah?

O’DONNELL: Really interesting. Nikole, I do have to ask you about that House Ethics report on Matt Gaetz. Are we going to see it?

KILLION: Well, the hope is that that will be released soon, after the House Ethics Committee voted to release its highly anticipated report into Matt Gaetz following its investigation into him. He faced allegations of sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, and bribery. He said that he did not have sex with a minor but did acknowledge that he may have parted and womanized more than he should have. Gaetz, of course, was briefly tapped as Trump’s Attorney General pick but later withdrew his name over this controversy. Norah.

O’DONNELL: It is busy there on Capitol Hill. All right, Nikole Killion. Thank you very much.

NBC NIGHTLY NEWS

12/18/24

6:31 PM

LESTER HOLT: In what could be seen as another sign of Elon Musk’s growing influence within the Trump orbit, the President-Elect joined Musk today in his call to scrap a spending bill backed by some Republicans, raising the chances of a government shutdown. Musk, tasked with tackling wasteful spending in the new administration, posted throughout the day on his X platform, demanding the spending bill be killed. Calling the package put forward by Republican Speaker Mike Johnson “pork barrel spending.” Later, Mr. Trump delivering the death knell, following Musk’s lead, and calling for the package to be scrapped- dramatically increasing the odds of a government shutdown as soon as this weekend. Meantime, there are new developments today regarding the House Ethics Committee investigation of former Congressman Matt Gaetz. Ryan Nobles is covering it all. Ryan, this new move by President-Elect Trump comes as that Friday deadline is quickly approaching.

RYAN NOBLES: Lester, that’s right. In fact, lawmakers were planning to vote on this massive spending bill as soon as tonight. But now they are left to grapple with the changes that President-Elect Trump is demanding. 

Tonight, President-Elect Trump blowing up a bipartisan spending deal worked out by House Speaker Mike Johnson, designed to keep the federal government open through March of next year. Writing, quote: “We should pass a streamlined spending bill that doesn’t give Chuck Schumer and the Democrats everything they want. The bill extended government funding while also adding $100 billion for disaster aid and $10 billion for farmers. But it also included health care reforms, and a provision allowing for pay raises for Members of Congress, leading to conservative backlash. Billionaire Elon Musk, who will lead Trump’s effort to cut government spending writing, “any lawmaker who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in two years. Tonight, Vice President-Elect Vance talking about the spending plan known as a CR.

JD VANCE: Well, what the president believes is we should support a clean CR so long as it contains a debt limit increase. That’s the position of the president, and that’s what we’re going to try to push for.

NOBLES: All of it coming after another surprise headline. NBC News learning the House Ethics Committee has voted in secret to release its report on former congressman Matt Gaetz, according to two sources familiar with the process. Now the committee is set to release its findings by the end of the week. Gaetzearlier  withdrew as Trump’s pick for attorney general.

MATT GAETZ: Haven’t been paying attention to that.

NOBLES: The committee looking into allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use which Gaetz denies. Tonight,Gaetz writing, “I ‘ve never had sexual contact with someone under 18. It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now.” A Justice Department investigation into the allegations was ultimately closed, with no charges filed against Gaetz.

HOLT: Ryan, let me circle you back to the potential shutdown. Speaker Johnson is facing a really major challenge tonight.

NOBLES: That’s right, Lester. He needs to come up with a plan B, which will likely be a slimmed down version of what he has already proposed. But that risks alienating support for some Democrats. And he needs to do it all by that deadline of midnight on Friday. Lester.

HOLE: All right. Ryan Nobles, thanks.