Lies from 'President' Musk lead to cuts for cancer research
Multibillionaire Elon Musk may not be elected to office, but it hasn’t stopped him from leading Republican opposition to the bipartisan spending bill meant to fund the government before a possible shutdown. But it won’t be Musk, his social media army, or House Republicans who pay the biggest price.
Musk whipped up opposition to the bill among conservative Republicans with dozens of tweets on X, which he has turned into a misinformation machine.
Musk’s posts on the legislation were packed with lies. He claimed that the bill contained a 40% pay increase for Congress, would prevent Republicans from investigating the Jan. 6 committee, would fund a bioweapons lab, and would pay for a new stadium for the NFL’s Washington Commanders. Every single one of Musk’s allegations was false and without merit.
But despite the underlying falsehoods from the man who bankrolled hundreds of millions for Trump’s election, Speaker Mike Johnson pulled the bill after Donald Trump followed Musk’s lead and opposed the legislation.
Trump backed a new, pared down spending bill that ultimately failed to pass on Thursday, leading to humiliation for Republicans who are now in disarray despite a majority.
The new bill created at the behest of the richest man in the world (Musk is worth over $439 billion) is notable for the cuts it makes to funding and programs meant to help millions of working-class Americans.
Perhaps most startling is the decision by Republican lawmakers to scrap a bipartisan provision that extended funding for the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Program. The program, created in memory of a 10-year-old girl who died from a brain tumor, funds research on treatment for pediatric cancer.
Nancy Goodman, founder and executive director of Kids v. Cancer told The Bulwark, “How can it be that our society is not thinking about the most vulnerable children and doing everything they can to help them? How can we cut this out in the name of efficiency? How does that make sense?”
The Musk-focused bill also cuts funding meant to extend the World Trade Center Health Program, which assists 9/11 first responders and survivors.
“’Never forget’ aren’t just words in New York. They’re a promise. One the @HouseGOP broke tonight when they cut health care for 9/11 first responders from the government funding bill,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul wrote. “Get back into the Capitol and do. Your. Job.”
The revised bill also cut several other provisions that were in the first bill, including a program for research on Down syndrome, funding for detection of breast and cervical cancer, funds for research on sickle cell disease, and provisions meant to combat deepfake porn.
The legislation also removed funding to combat opioid abuse and regulation meant to put guardrails on the pharmacy benefit manager industry—giving a win to companies like UnitedHealth Group.
The revised bill did include a provision to raise the federal debt limit, something that hasn’t been done under Democratic presidents but would give Trump more power to pass his agenda once he is sworn in.
Democrats have railed against the entire messy process and mocked Trump and Johnson for bending to the whims of “President Elon Musk.”
Ultimately, the wealthiest man in the world—by a wide margin—told the Republican Party what to do, and in response the party made cuts that will affect millions of people who will never have the wealth and influence of Musk.
House Republican leadership is set to propose a third bill on Friday to avoid a government shutdown at midnight. Johnson has said he has a plan C and a vote will happen Friday morning, but with Musk watching, the outcome is anyone’s guess.