Dems threatening government shutdown over Elon Musk hate, Republicans say

House Republicans are accusing Democrats of waging their opposition campaign against the GOP's government funding plan over their fury at Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts.

"They hate Elon Musk and Donald Trump more than they love their country," Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital. "They're just losing their f------ minds."

Mace was still optimistic that some Democratic lawmakers will vote for the legislation on Tuesday afternoon, "I mean, they voted for every CR under the sun when [former President Joe Biden] was president. That's what this is — it's just political games."

First-term Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colo., told Fox News Digital, "It's either [President Donald Trump] or Elon Musk or a combination thereof, right?"

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"They've had nothing but political losses from November forward. Last week was the worst political loss I think they've suffered in a long time," Crank said, referring to Democrats' intra-party divisions over some lawmakers' disruptions during Trump's speech to Congress. "I guess they've got to keep fighting, but what they should do is the right thing: Keep the government open."

Musk and his DOGE work have been met with near-universal condemnation by Democrats, even those who have agreed with the need to cut the federal bureaucracy. 

Democrats have held Musk up as a political boogeyman, an unelected billionaire who was given too much access to the federal government that he also profits from as a military contractor.

But Republicans, with some exceptions, have defended his work as necessary.

Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., told Fox News Digital that Musk is "doing damage to our government" but denied his work being a factor in his likely decision to oppose the funding bill.

"Musk doesn't live rent-free in my head," Crow said. "I'm not making legislative decisions based upon Elon Musk and what he does and doesn't do in any given day… I'm focusing on my constituents."

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Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., when asked about Musk, did not mention the billionaire at all. Instead, he pivoted to criticize House Republicans for putting a stopgap government funding bill known as a continuing resolution (CR) up for a vote, rather than dealing with a fresh slate of fiscal year (FY) 2025 appropriations bills.

"Republicans have said for the longest time, right, that CRs are no longer the way to fund the government. Speaker Johnson promised to do individual spending bills. That was his pitch to his colleagues in order to remain speaker. OK. He's the one who's going back on his word to his own colleagues," Moskowitz said.

But Democrats have nevertheless used Musk in their public broadsides against the bill.

"It takes away veterans' healthcare. It takes away critical research funding. Those are the things that House Republicans are willing to do just to give Elon Musk and Donald Trump's friends continued tax breaks. That's unacceptable to House Democrats," House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., told reporters on Monday.

Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., wrote on X, "Trump and Musk are illegally shutting down federal agencies, mass firing federal workers, and freezing congressionally mandated funding. It's causing massive job losses and economic chaos for my constituents, and the Republican CR would continue this disaster. I will vote no."

The proposed CR roughly freezes government funding at FY 2024 levels through the beginning of FY 2026, on Oct 1. It includes extra funding for defense while cutting nondefense funding by roughly $13 billion.

House GOP leadership aides said over the weekend that the bill includes some added funding for veterans' healthcare — putting them at odds with Democrats' messaging.

Democratic lawmakers normally vote in droves to avert a government shutdown, but this time it's likely House Republicans will need to share the burden largely on their own.

As of Monday night, several Republicans are still undecided on how they will vote, despite Trump making calls to GOP lawmakers who are on the fence.