Following the passage of a stopgap measure that will keep the government funded through March of 2025, high profile House Democrats have declared a “victory for the American people,” Newsweek reported on Saturday.
The passage of the bill was a minor blow to President-elect Donald Trump who had been pushing the elimination of the debt ceiling. On Friday evening, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., managed to put together a bill that keeps the government open four more months with a final vote of 366-34. The bill then passed the Senate just after the midnight deadline by an 85-11 margin.
Trump, along with Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) heads Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy flooded social media urging GOP representatives to kill the bill. Those Republicans who supported the initial measure were hit with the threat of being primaried for daring to go against the wishes of Musk and Trump. “Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” Musk wrote on his X platform. He also called it “one of the worst bills ever written.”
Democrats seized on the newfound influence waged by Musk and Ramaswamy to paint the passage of the bill as a win for normal American citizens and a defeat for the wealthy Republican donor class.
“House Democrats have successfully stopped the 'billionaire boys club' which wanted a four trillion-dollar blank check by suspending the debt ceiling in order to enable them to cut social security, cut Medicare, and cut nutritional assistance while providing massive tax breaks for the wealthy, the well off, and the well-connected. This is a victory for the American people,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. to reporters.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., likewise voiced her support of the bill’s passage with a swipe at Musk’s political influence over GOP leadership saying, “Tonight, in a victory for the American people and a loss for Donald Trump and Elon Musk - we forced President-elect Trump and Shadow President Elon Musk to back down from the 11th hour demand to pass a suspension of the debt ceiling.”
President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on Saturday which also provides disaster relief and extends farm legislation.