U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, a leading progressive politician, criticized Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who opposes the bipartisan temporary budget resolution (CR) aimed at avoiding a government shutdown, calling him "President Elon Musk."
Independent Senator Sanders wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account on the 19th (local time), "The Democrats and Republicans have negotiated for months to reach a bipartisan agreement on the government budget," adding, "But the richest person on Earth, 'President Elon Musk,' does not like it." He questioned, "Will the Republicans follow his will?" and argued, "We must not let billionaires run our government."
Earlier, the Democratic and Republican leadership agreed on a temporary budget resolution to keep the government running until March 14 next year. Typically, when Congress fails to pass the budget bill for the next fiscal year on time, it drafts a temporary budget resolution lasting several months to buy negotiation time. However, the existing temporary budget resolution is set to expire on the 20th, raising concerns about a potential shutdown before the new administration takes office in January next year.
Locally, analyses suggest that attacks on the bipartisan temporary budget resolution agreed upon by the two party leaders are being led by Musk, a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump. Democratic Representative Maxwell Frost criticized, calling Musk "the unelected co-president of the Republicans," and said, "All he did was post a few messages on social media (SNS)." Republican Representative Andy Barr also told The Guardian that phone calls have been nonstop since Musk began criticizing the temporary budget resolution, adding, "The people who elected us are listening to Musk."
Musk, who will head the newly established Government Efficiency Department in the next administration, publicly expressed opposition to the temporary budget resolution the day before. Leading efforts to downsize government organizations and cut budgets, he stated on X, "This bill must not pass." He even threatened that lawmakers who vote in favor of the budget resolution would not be able to run for office next time.
President-elect Donald Trump also made his opposition clear in an interview with NBC News on the same day, saying, "The temporary budget resolution is unacceptable in many ways. It is a trap set by the Democrats." The day before, after Musk’s opposing post was published, Trump issued a joint statement with Vice President-elect JD Vance, saying, "We must pass a streamlined spending bill that does not give Democrats everything they want," and added, "The only way to do that is a temporary budget resolution that excludes favors to the Democrats and combines a debt ceiling increase."
Following opposition from hardliners within the party, as well as public dissent from influential figures like Musk and President-elect Trump, the passage of this temporary budget resolution has become even more uncertain. The 1,547-page temporary budget resolution includes additional funding such as $100 billion for disaster relief and $10 billion for farmer support, exceeding last year’s budget size. It also contains provisions related to healthcare, congressional pay raises, trade with Haiti, and potential threats from drones.
With the deadline for passage just one day away, reaching a new budget agreement seems difficult. President-elect Trump opposes the existing temporary budget resolution, and the Democrats have stated they will not accept anything other than the current agreement. As a result, voices within the Republican Party are emerging that the government shutdown must be endured. The U.S. government shutdown lasted five weeks starting in December 2018, and according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the economic loss from that shutdown was estimated at about $3 billion.
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