Johnson considers spending Plan B as Elon Musk raises opposition

Johnson  considers spending  Plan B as Elon Musk  raises opposition

The  Speaker of the House plans to pass a  "clean" funding  plan, leaving  more discussion on disaster aid and more for the new  year.
House Speaker Mike  Johnson's leadership team is quietly discussing a  Plan B to fund the government amid conservative opposition and vocal criticism from  President-elect Donald  Trump's top  ally, Elon  Musk.
The Louisiana Republican  plans to eliminate $100 billion in disaster aid  and other  earmarks and instead  pass a  "clean CR" -- then  address other issues in the new year, according to two Republicans  familiar with the  discussions. In addition to disaster aid,  this would mean $30 billion  in cuts to farmers and a one-year extension of the farm bill, among other  things, at least for  now.
Johnson has not made a final decision. But if he  changes tack, it would be a boon  to his right  wing, which has publicly  opposed the current spending bill and  rekindles a  lingering threat to Johnson's  presidency. Many of  these conservatives  generally do not support stopgap spending — most of the  bill's additions were designed to appease  their Republican and Democratic counterparts.
Some Republicans believe Musk's  criticism has emboldened even more House  Republicans to oppose the spending plan that Johnson and his  leaders unveiled Tuesday night. Musk, who has been  tasked with cutting government spending, wrote on X that the spending bill "should not pass" and that any lawmaker who votes for it "deserves to be voted out in 2  years."
"I think  it's having an effect on some people," Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.)  said when asked if Musk's tweets  swayed votes  on Capitol Hill. "I think that's probably the  case."
Musk's decision to  step down has frustrated some Republicans who have long viewed him as a potential ally in their  mission to cut spending, something  that almost all Republicans want to do. The GOP doesn't control all the levers of power until next year and  is therefore limited in its ability to write spending bills that the party favors. Some Republicans are already privately  complaining that Musk — while clearly a successful businessman —  doesn't understand the ways of Washington, where spending bills  are supposed to be  bipartisan.
Democrats will be less likely to  vote for a funding resolution if their hard-won concessions like disaster  relief, funding  for repairs to the Francis Scott Key Bridge and other provisions  aren't included in the  law. But some Democrats  in purple districts may feel  compelled to vote for the  bill to keep the lights on  anyway. "I was  on the phone with Elon last night," Johnson said on Fox and  Friends Wednesday. "Elon, Vivek [Ramaswamy] and I were  writing and explaining the  context of  everything. And Vivek and I  were talking last night,  around midnight, and he said, 'Look, I get it.' He said, 'We understand  that you're in an impossible  situation.'" Of course, Johnson's spending plan was giving him heartburn  even before Musk  spoke. Conservatives  have always  had a problem with increased  spending. "Look, I welcome Elon to  this fight. I've been doing this  for a long time, I  came out against  him yesterday," said Rep. Tim Burchett  (R-Tenn.).
Passing a clean spending bill  won't completely solve  Johnson's problems.  He'll still need  the help  of Democrats to pass even a clean  transition bill — some conservatives  won't vote for it, even without the  additions. But the current spending plan is  drawing widespread opposition from dozens of Republicans, including some  of Johnson's traditional allies. House Republicans  have been openly skeptical of Johnson's ability to  secure a majority  on his current spending strategy, which would put him on shaky ground  ahead of the Jan. 3  House speaker race

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