Johnson Defends Funding Measure Amid Opposition

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson defended a stopgap measure aimed at funding the federal government through mid-March and averting a partial government shutdown, despite complaints from some fellow Republicans and Donald Trump ally Elon Musk.

Johnson, in an interview on Fox News, stated that the bill was necessary to keep the government operating until U.S. President-elect Trump and his fellow Republicans had full control of Congress to enact promised larger spending changes.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) founder Musk, who, along with businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, was tasked by Trump to lead an advisory panel aimed at increasing government efficiency, expressed disapproval of the spending bill, urging lawmakers to reject it. "This bill should not pass," Musk wrote in an early morning post on X.

Johnson discussed the situation with Musk and Ramaswamy on Tuesday night, explaining the circumstances surrounding the bill and the narrow 219-211 Republican majority in the House, while acknowledging that Democrats control the Senate and the White House until next month. "Elon and Vivek and I are on a text chain together, and I was explaining the background of this," he stated. "They understand the situation."

Other Republican lawmakers have also voiced opposition to the proposal, which must pass by Friday night to avert a partial government shutdown that would begin on Saturday unless Congress acts. The tentative deal is expected to maintain the current levels of the roughly $6.2 trillion federal budget and includes $100.4 billion in new disaster aid and $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers.