The tweets Elon Musk sent were a possible preview of the mogul’s new role as co-leader of a Donald Trump-blessed effort to slash government funding. | Brandon Bell/Getty Images
By Daniella Diaz and Katherine Tully-McManus
12/18/2024 07:33 PM EST
Updated: 12/18/2024 07:42 PM EST
A bipartisan deal to avert a government shutdown collapsed Wednesday amid a sustained campaign against the package led by billionaire Elon Musk — one featuring a series of false and misleading statements.
Musk used his social network X to stir Republicans into a frenzy over the stopgap spending bill filed the night before by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who was forced by his thin majority to negotiate with Democrats on a resolution that could pass in time to avert a government shutdown that would start 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
That outcome appeared more likely as President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance came out against the bill, calling instead for a pared-back measure coupled with a debt-limit increase. The House canceled votes on the spending plan, which included $100 billion in disaster aid funding, billions in farm assistance and dozens of other side deals that pushed the final product past 1,500 pages.
Among the 100-plus tweets Musk sent as part of his campaign were a number of misleading or outright false claims — a possible preview of the mogul’s new role as co-leader of a Trump-blessed effort to slash government funding.
Musk, for example, repeatedly posted on X that a...
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