Here we go again: Congress is at it with another bloated spending package disguised as a “Continuing Resolution” (CR), and President-elect Donald Trump is having none of it. According to Fox News host Lawrence B. Jones, Trump is “totally against” the proposed CR, which would kick the can into 2025 and let lawmakers enjoy their holiday breaks without solving the real problems. Honestly, can you blame him?
Trump isn’t alone in his disdain for this monstrosity of a bill. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who are set to lead Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), have also torched the CR. Ramaswamy, ever the methodical one, read all 1,500+ pages before weighing in. His conclusion? The bill is a disaster. This is not just because of the $380 billion price tag for keeping the lights on until March 2025 but also because of all the extra goodies Congress has decided to throw in.
Let’s take a look at some of the “necessary” items in this package: $130 billion to extend the Farm Bill, $100 billion in disaster relief, $10 billion in farmer stimulus, and $8 billion for replacing the Francis Scott Key Bridge. While some of these expenditures might sound important on the surface, Ramaswamy pointed out that they are padded with pork and long-term spending that doesn’t belong in a short-term CR. He summed it up best: “Debt-fueled spending sprees may ‘feel good’ today, but it’s like showering cocaine on an addict: it’s not compassion, it’s cruelty.”
Ramaswamy also argued that a true stopgap measure could have been accomplished in 20 pages. But Congress, being Congress, crammed this bill with special-interest giveaways, unnecessary long-term commitments, and a whole lot of fiscal irresponsibility.
Rep. Nancy Mace did a breakdown, and you’d think Nancy Pelosi wrote it.
As promised, here’s our breakdown of the massive CR. It funds censorship, includes enormous subsidies for industries who don’t need them, and includes a bunch of woke nonsense – a thread
— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) December 18, 2024
House Speaker Mike Johnson, however, has tried to defend the CR. He argues that this is just a temporary fix to keep essential funding flowing until Republicans take full control in March when Trump is back in the White House. According to Johnson, letting farmers and hurricane victims fend for themselves isn’t an option, and it’s better to punt big decisions to a time when Republicans can control the purse strings. It’s a fine sentiment, but it doesn’t explain why the bill is packed with unrelated spending and why fiscal conservatives are expected to sign off on it.
The debate over the CR highlights a fundamental divide in the Republican Party. On one side, you have the establishment figures like Johnson who are willing to play the game as usual, making deals with Democrats to avoid shutdowns at all costs. On the other side, you have the MAGA-aligned voices, led by Trump, Musk, and Ramaswamy, who are tired of the same old swampy tactics and want government spending reined in now, not later.
This CR isn’t just a financial mess; it’s a symbol of everything wrong with Washington. Trump and his team aren’t saying disaster relief or support for farmers isn’t important—they’re saying there’s a right way to do it, and cramming it into a pork-laden stopgap measure isn’t it.
As Ramaswamy put it, the current approach is “hurting the very people it claims to help,” saddling future generations with crushing debt while lawmakers pat themselves on the back. It’s hard to argue with that logic—unless, of course, you’re a member of Congress more interested in jetting off for the holidays than doing your job.
