It’s that time of year.

No, we’re not talking about celebrating the holidays with friends and family in
front of a warm fire while a soft blanket of fresh snow snuggles the evergreens
outside our frosted windows.

We’re talking about the time of year when MAGA Republicans in Congress usually
try to set fire to the federal budget process and bring us to the brink of a
full-scale government shutdown.

Except this year, Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate had
agreed on a bipartisan plan to fund the government into March — with disaster relief desperately needed by millions of Americans and without any poison pills.

* It was a Christmas miracle.

* Almost.

* But then Elonezer Scrooge — a.k.a. Elon Musk — stepped in.

* Yesterday — in the sort of Twitter meltdown the world’s richest person is
increasingly (in)famous for — Musk ranted against the funding legislation,
saying critical disaster funds were unnecessary “pork.”

* A short while later — showing exactly the kind of foresight and fortitude we
expect of presidents and vice presidents (that was sarcasm) — both Donald
Trump and JD Vance played follow the leader and weighed it to say,
essentially, “Yeah, what Elon said.”

Why is Elon Musk being allowed to blow up the painstakingly negotiated
legislation that funds the federal government?

Why is Elon Musk being allowed to threaten an entirely avoidable shutdown and
bring suffering to millions of everyday Amercians (who aren’t, you know,
billionaires who can just ride it out on their super yachts)?

Why is Elon Musk being allowed to act as if he won the election and will be the
one running the country a month from now? (And, not for nothing, why is Trump so
ready to display that it is Musk, not him, who is calling the shots?)

A message to Elon Musk: [[link removed]]

Nobody elected you. And you don’t seem to know anything about what actually goes
on behind the scenes to pass critical legislation like government funding bills.
If your Twitter tantrum results in a shutdown, millions of Americans will suffer
as essential agencies and programs go dark. Listen carefully: You don’t get to
be in charge of everything just because you have the highest net worth. Stop
sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. Stop ranting about things you don’t
understand. And stop acting like our entire country is another company you can
buy and run into the ground on a whim.
[[link removed]]

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Thanks for taking action.

For progress,

- Lisa Gilbert & Robert Weissman, Co-Presidents of Public Citizen


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