Elon Musk has come out against the bill to avert a looming government shutdown

Tech billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk has voiced his opposition to a stopgap funding deal, calling for the government to reduce spending.

After the release of the bipartisan legislation Tuesday night, Musk took to his platform, X, to criticize the measure, describing the 1,547-page bill as a "big piece of pork" and asserting that it "should not pass." The bill aims to extend the government funding deadline to March 14, allowing the next Congress and incoming president more time to decide on long-term budget measures.

Musk, the world’s richest person, joins a growing list of GOP critics who are concerned about the national debt. Musk is co-leading President-elect Trump’s newly formed advisory panel, the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), alongside tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. The panel's mission is to cut government spending and streamline bureaucracy.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) revealed that he had spoken with Musk and Ramaswamy about the controversial proposal on Tuesday night.

“I was communicating with Elon last night. Elon, Vivek, and I are on a text chain together,” Johnson said during an appearance on Fox News’s Fox & Friends. “I explained the context, and Vivek and I talked until almost midnight. They understand the difficult position we’re in.”

Johnson emphasized that Musk and Ramaswamy’s criticism isn’t personal but rather focused on the broader issue of government spending. “They said, ‘It’s not directed at you, Mr. Speaker, but we don’t like the spending.’ And I said, ‘Guess what, fellas? I don’t either,’” Johnson recounted.

The Speaker defended the short-term funding measure as a necessary step to prevent a government shutdown while setting the stage for significant fiscal reforms once Trump and the Republican majorities take office next year.

“This is about clearing the decks so we can achieve our goals,” Johnson said. “We’ll get to March, put our fingerprints on the spending, and start implementing the big changes we need.”