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If Americans get a government shutdown for Christmas it will be courtesy of House Democrats who were given political cover by more than three dozen GOP lawmakers to reject a slimmed-down version of a funding bill backed by President-elect Donald J. Trump.
The normally festive holiday week in D.C. was set to be capped off by the passage of a continuing resolution to fund the federal government, a formality from members of Congress on their way out of town for their latest taxpayer-funded vacation.
But instead of a simple funding bill, GOP Speaker Mike Johnson and friends dropped a 1,500+ page monstrosity stuffed to the gills with leftist pork and buried nasty treats such as preserving a government censorship nexus that Trump referred to as the “Communist Global Engagement Center” and a protective measure to spare Liz Cheney and the J6 thugs from being held accountable.
Opposition to the “criminal” legislation was led by billionaire X owner and DOGE chief Elon Musk and Trump who both balked, threatening GOP lawmakers with being primaried which miraculously resulted in the shaving off of around 1,400 pages of unnecessary pork.
Yesterday’s bill vs today’s bill pic.twitter.com/L3Omn964mw
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 19, 2024
Instead of just doing the right thing and voting for the streamlined bill to keep the government open, Democrats dropped a big lump of coal in Americans’ Christmas stockings, reportedly chanting “Hell no!” once their prized agenda items had been stripped out.
“I’m not simply a no. I’m a hell no,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) told Democrats at a closed-door meeting, according to Politico.
.@RepJeffries: “The Musk-Johnson proposal is not serious. It’s laughable. Extreme MAGA Republicans are driving us to a government shutdown.” pic.twitter.com/PoHVNeInsv
— CSPAN (@cspan) December 19, 2024
Musk reacted by slamming Jeffries.
“A super fair & simple bill was put to a vote and only 2 Democrats in Congress were in favor,” he said in a Thursday night post to X. “Therefore, responsibility for the shutdown rests squarely on the shoulders of @RepJeffries.”
A super fair & simple bill was put to a vote and only 2 Democrats in Congress were in favor.
Therefore, responsibility for the shutdown rests squarely on the shoulders of @RepJeffries. https://t.co/TKq65oKLs4
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 20, 2024
“Shame on @RepJeffries for rejecting a fair & simple spending bill that is desperately needed by states suffering from hurricane damage!” Musk added in another post.
Rather than letting the Democrats take the full blame for a government shutdown, a gang of GOP hardliners chose to also reject the bill for their own reasons instead of sticking together to give Trump what should have been an easy win.
CR spending bill just failed to pass.
38 Republicans voted against it.
Primary all of them! pic.twitter.com/23pshpznSU
— Paul A. Szypula (@Bubblebathgirl) December 20, 2024
The list of GOP lawmakers who gave Democrats cover to shut down the government for Christmas:
Reps. Aaron Bean (R-FL), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Josh Brecheen (R-OK), Tim Burchett (R-TN), Eric Burlison (R-MO), Kat Cammack (R-FL), Michael Cloud (R-TX), Andrew Clyde (R-VA), Eli Crane (R-AZ), John Curtis (R-UT), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Russ Fulcher (R-ID), Bob Good (R-VA), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Andy Harris (R-MD), Wesley Hunt (R-TX), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), Debbie Lesko (R-AZ), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Morgan Luttrell (R-TX), Nancy Mace (R-SC), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Rich McCormick (R-GA), Cory Mills (R-FL), Alex Mooney (R-WV), Blake Moore (R-UT), Troy Nehls (R-TX), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Andy Ogles (R-TN), Scott Perry (R-PA), Bill Posey (R-FL), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Chip Roy (R-TX), David Schweikert (R-AZ), Keith Self (R-TX), Victoria Spartz (R-IN), Tom Tiffany (R-WI), and Beth Van Duyne (R-TX).
Many of the GOP members who voted “no” expressed their feelings on X but the fact is that they allowed Jeffries and company to duck the blame for the Christmas shutdown.
“All Republicans, and even the Democrats, should do what is best for our Country, and vote ‘YES’ for this Bill, TONIGHT!” Trump wrote on Truth Social before he was fragged by his own troops.
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