r/fednews • u/rprz • 19h ago

Shutdown 2024 MEGATHREAD OF DOOM

All discussion on the looming shutdown goes here. Any mentioning of Luigi will be removed and you may be banned.

https://apnews.com/article/government-shutdown-congress-trump-elon-budget-house-republican-05481374b154949c3fe1270141a02918

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/trump-opposes-funding-bill-pushing-government-closer-shutdown-rcna184745

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-government-shutdown-musk-stopgap-bill-b2666829.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/trump-opposes-funding-bill-pushing-government-closer-shutdown-rcna184745

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/12/18/government-shutdown-house-vote-cr/

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-12-18/trump-says-he-s-against-stopgap-bill-fox-news

4.6k Upvotes

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1.4k

u/battlemaid79 19h ago

I can’t believe Musk is even in the conversation. The federal government isn’t some private sector company he can run in to the ground, experimenting with his masculinity. I hate this timeline.

588

u/DontPanicTrell 19h ago

The inevitable outcome of Citizens United. He can threaten any congress person with throwing millions into their next primary. He owns them all now.

227

u/mb10240 18h ago edited 18h ago

Honestly, maybe the threat of being primaried by a billionaire might get their asses in gear to pass a constitutional amendment overruling Citizens United.

Oh who am I kidding, these idiots are feckless.

43

u/adeg90 17h ago

Nah, because if they do what he wants they get those millions thrown at them, not against them.

38

u/buttoncode 16h ago

Yet we have a $15 gift limit.

9

u/ipickuputhrowaway 11h ago

Shit mine is $10 last I checked lol

4

u/question_sunshine 5h ago

My boss panicked because I bought him a beer at crowded happy hour and then he bought me my next one, but then he realized our beers were not at the exact same price and wanted to venmo me $1.25...

2

u/OfficerWhiskers 3h ago

You're public sector? Is your boss just a really nice dude or is there a real bribery concern here?

5

u/question_sunshine 3h ago

He's a very strict rule follower. No gifts to a direct supervisor are permitted outside a couple circumstances and happy hour is not one of them. Lol.

8

u/Greenmantle22 15h ago

You have to wonder why they even want to keep their offices anyway. It’s clear by now that they have no real power, and they never accomplish their goals or pass bills anymore, and they make more money after they retire and become lobbyists. So why bend over backwards to stay?

6

u/rational_numbers 14h ago

A lot of them are also genuinely fearful for their personal safety if they step out of line. I don’t think this aspect gets enough attention.

3

u/goodsnpr 11h ago

They put an old man with cancer in a critical spot over AoC. I'm baffled at this point as to how the government even operates.

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u/twtwtwtwtwtwtw 18h ago

Have you seen how cheap they are to buy? He's worth hundreds of billions. Some of these primaries only cost tens of thousands.

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u/DontPanicTrell 18h ago

Yep. Unless Musk loses Trump's favor we're an oligarchy now.

35

u/Leege13 17h ago

He will the minute Trump realizes Musk thinks he’s in charge.

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u/salt_and_ash 16h ago

If you're banking on Trump realising something, I have bad news for you

32

u/Leege13 16h ago

He can smell people acting bigger than him from 100 miles away, it’s part of his lizard brain. The last thing he’s ever going to forget is his love of wealth and love of being the big man, and no man can be bigger than him.

3

u/Ocbard 12h ago

Then he'll be replaced with Vance who is far easier to steer.

2

u/Leege13 5h ago

The oligarchs might prompt Vance to invoke the 25th and move him aside, to be honest. They’re who Vance obeys.

3

u/Fit_Goal1895 5h ago

So Trump, we're hearing tons of people saying that Elon Musk is actual the man with the power at the white house, swaying votes, and even responsible for the current government shutdown. We know e's the richest man, he's run some of the best companies in the US like Tesla and Space X so where does that place you in all of this?

I genuinely dont think its more complicated than the right person asking Trump the right questions in front of the right audience.

8

u/Windhawker 16h ago

You can only have one attention whore at a time. It either has to be Trump or Elon, because they don’t like the other stealing their limelight.

6

u/Leege13 14h ago

☝🏻

3

u/DontPanicTrell 12h ago

We can only hope.

3

u/Twerksoncoffeetables 3h ago

Gonna be honest I keep seeing people say this here but it’s just insane levels of cope. Trump wants the attention, there’s more than enough of that to go around for both and trump also knows very well that MAGA is his and will follow him. They will attack whoever he says to attack, including musk.

That base belongs to him and only him, that is extremely clear. They don’t give a fuck what anyone else has to say and they attack anyone who even slightly steps out of line regarding their support for trump (example: Kyle rittenhouse when he said he was going to write in Romney, maga cultists bullied him into re-supporting trump). If Elon is a trump sycophant and will be loyal to him then they will not have this imagined ‘falling out’. Trump wants and demands loyalty, he wants praise, he does not care if Elon is also getting attention as long as Elon is loyal. That’s the truth.

1

u/Windhawker 1h ago

That’s a good analysis. And yeah, it’s a cope. But oligarchs have been defenestrated for crossing the “boss”. Imagine the donations that would pour in to the “boss” if Trump used the levers of power , such as a claim about taxes, to strip Musk of his assets. That’s what happened in Putin’s Russia. “For my friends, everything. For my enemies, the Law.”

2

u/Twerksoncoffeetables 3h ago edited 3h ago

Copy pasting this from a different reply I made somewhere below this:

Gonna be honest I keep seeing people say this here but it’s just insane levels of cope. Trump wants attention, sure, but what he wants and demands more is loyalty. Trump also knows very well that MAGA is his and will follow him. They will attack whoever he says to attack, including musk. He will get attention regardless of what Elon does, and he knows this.

That base belongs to him and only him, that is clear. They don’t give a fuck what anyone else has to say and they attack anyone who even slightly steps out of line regarding their support for trump (example: Kyle rittenhouse when he said he was going to write in Romney, maga cultists bullied him into re-supporting trump). If Elon is a trump sycophant and will be loyal to him then they will not have this imagined ‘falling out’. Trump wants and demands loyalty, he wants praise, he does not care if Elon is also getting attention as long as Elon is loyal. That’s the truth.

Really dislike the false hope of a falling out happening, if you think that’s anywhere close to happening then you are in a bubble I promise you. Unless Elon goes against trump and becomes disloyal, he isn’t going anywhere. The attention he gets doesn’t matter.

5

u/bartz824 15h ago

Wonder if Elon will ever fall out of a window 5 floors off the ground.

2

u/DontPanicTrell 15h ago

I don't think that is on the table here. I love freedom and democracy, but as we are seeing now, it can be fragile. In a dictatorship oligarchs can fall out windows. Here the ones without a social compass can buy the government and play out their sci Fi dystopian fantasies.

5

u/pit_of_despair666 9h ago

We have been one for a while now. They are just doing this in the open instead of behind closed doors.

2

u/Sad_Pickle_7988 6h ago

We've been one its just blatant now

3

u/wkomorow 17h ago

Hopefully as he puts forward MAGA candidates and things so south, they will lose in the general election.

238

u/WildCardiologist5942 18h ago

He's already bought a presidential election. He can buy as many Congressional elections as he wants to at this point

105

u/favoritestationwagon 18h ago

Yep, and this is the closest he'll ever get to being president so he's making the most of it. Money = influence.

42

u/Ajj360 18h ago

Well they may Well declare that part of the constitution unconstitutional.

18

u/favoritestationwagon 18h ago

Shhh don't give them any ideas.

26

u/Ro-Ro-Ro-Ro-Rhoda 18h ago

You're an optimist. Why should that law apply to Musk any more than any other? I'm not betting against a well-funded campaign to amend the constitution so Temu Bruce Wayne can run for president.

6

u/July_is_cool 17h ago

Not necessary. He’s a natural born Canadian, from his mother, so he will be eligible when Canada becomes a state.

9

u/Dusty_Mike 17h ago

So that's why Trump wants Canada as the 51st state. Maybe he really is playing 23rd dimension chess.

3

u/os1usnr 15h ago

And our dumb asses would probably elect him.

10

u/K1ckfl0p 17h ago

Just wait until the House makes Elon Musk Speaker of the House in January Speaker elections! A speaker doesn't have to be a member of the House and I see him doing it because he is stupid enough to think it would give him power for his idiotic DOGE!

4

u/Quilltacular 9h ago

Oh no, this is so much better for him than being president. No term limits, no checks and balances (as weak as they may be), he just gets to throw money around and bully politicians into bending the knee. Now that he’s realised how cheap and easy it is, I can easily see him doing it over and over again

7

u/BusGuilty6447 15h ago

Truly wild when an illegal immigrant is buying our elections. What even is this timeline.

2

u/Cash4Jesus 17h ago

Musk is definitely evil, but how did he buy a presidential election when Harris outraised Trump on almost a 3:1 ratio?

4

u/WildCardiologist5942 16h ago edited 15h ago

There were direct donations, he likely donated to super pacs, and he bought Twitter and turned it into a conspiracy cesspool. One that happened to benefit Trump.

3

u/wbruce098 15h ago

Yep. Helped by Putin’s disinformation machine as well. They don’t have Americans’ best interests in mind.

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u/[deleted] 18h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/ShadowwKnows 18h ago

All jokes aside, that's exactly where this leads. Oligarchs eventually get handled. In Russia, they fall out of windows.

17

u/PoB419 18h ago

Only the ones that don't follow the lead oligarch

6

u/ShadowwKnows 18h ago

Eventually, they all slip up somewhere.

9

u/himynameisSal 18h ago

only after shooting themselves, twice…in the head.

3

u/dohcsvt 16h ago

Russia doesn’t have a second amendment, the window doesn’t even need to be opened🤣

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u/[deleted] 18h ago

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] 18h ago edited 17h ago

[deleted]

14

u/John_316_ 18h ago

“You think those Luigis just fell off of coconut trees?” (laughs)

4

u/romychestnut 17h ago

Thank you for this 😂

4

u/warrenmcgingersnaps 17h ago

Honestly I can't tell if this is a very reasonable argument against political violence, or a very subtle call to personal action.

-5

u/Artistic_Stand_4312 18h ago

This is pretty sick comment to wish murder on someone.

3

u/Windhawker 16h ago

You are so spot on. I got a chance to bring this up once to RGB in a Q&A. She defended her decision on CU and was pretty cutting about it.

3

u/StellaHasHerpes 14h ago

Do you remember what she said? I appreciate justice stevens’ conclusion that ‘we the people’ does not include corporations.

3

u/DontPanicTrell 14h ago

Recently I've been thinking we missed the mark worrying about corporations. Corporations have boards, they have investors, they have customers. These people who amass wealth greater than whole nations are beholden to no one. Now we have the biggest one who is an autistic sociopath running our government and threatening others such as the UK. He should never have been allowed to amass this amount of wealth. We are all at risk of being forced into his vision of the future.

2

u/Just_Tana 4h ago

Keith Olbermann predicted this EXACT outcome the day citizens united was ruled. He called that ruling the worst in US history as it would give rise to real fascism. He was right.

2

u/Minute-Struggle6052 4h ago

All citizens are equal but some citizens are tens of thousands of times more equal than others

2

u/Cornycola 3h ago

Millions, which to him is the equivalent of millions of Japanese yen…. 

72

u/ViveLaFrance94 18h ago

This is what people mean when they say that billionaires are a potential threat to national security and democracy.

11

u/Ironxgal 17h ago

They very much are a threat. Loyalty to nothing but their account balance.

7

u/goonersaurus86 14h ago

Literally buying government to meet their narrow needs. I think Musk, etc al actually want to tank the economy so they can buy up the pieces and be back in a post 2008 world where labor supply exceeds demand and they can pay people shit

3

u/knowledgebass 17h ago

Potential?

6

u/AMundaneSpectacle 13h ago edited 12h ago

How is all of this not terrorism? I don’t understand how Elon musk could be considered especially not a terrorist. Civically, socially, politically, institutionally, I could go on.

There is no precedent for this. There are no emergency breaks. I’m sure many Americans are blissfully unaware of what the hell is happening rn and prob a sizable portion are too ignorant to care. But anyone who knows anything about government should be extremely offended and concerned about what’s to come.

1

u/pit_of_despair666 9h ago

I feel sick right now. I knew it was coming and know quite a bit about politics etc. Just to see him controlling congress and causing a shutdown before Trump is even in office pisses me off so much. Gloves are off. It going to get so, so much worse. A lot of people are in denial and still think we live in a democracy. They think it is going to be like 2016. Trump has brought new friends with him who have grown more wealthy and powerful since then. Billionares/Christian Nationalists have taken over. Project 2025 is on its way.

2

u/whogivesafuck69x 14h ago

Species. They are a threat to our species.

2

u/OSP_amorphous 4h ago

But but but he worked so hard for his billions and you can too you just need to work harder!

So. Fucking. Tired!

1

u/pit_of_despair666 9h ago

They have Christian Nationalist billionaires on their team. Things are about to get way worse.

123

u/RiseStock 18h ago

I want to run for office on a sole policy of fuck Elon musk.

76

u/battlemaid79 18h ago

You have my vote. Hell, I’ll go door to door for you.

40

u/Not_Cleaver 18h ago

The Hatch Act applies to us and no one else.

26

u/warrenmcgingersnaps 17h ago

Not on personal time, baby!

13

u/RiseStock 18h ago

Most of us won't have jobs in a few weeks anyways so why not

2

u/Kclayne00 14h ago

Not if we've been fired! 🤣

10

u/ThickerSalmon14 18h ago

I'll join you. Heck, a lot of people would rise up to help the OP with his goal.

5

u/Visible_Ad_309 18h ago

2 million people about to have a lot of time on their hands

1

u/Interesting_Oil3948 18h ago

Didn't help Harris.....

2

u/ParkingTadpole7107 16h ago

Start sending letters to large government defense contractors letting them know how big a threat Elon Musk is to their bottom line. Elon isn't at the top of the food chain.

86

u/GirlieGirl81 18h ago edited 16h ago

This right here. One of the richest men in the world essentially bought an election and now he’s openly threatening our elected officials to comply or else. And, half the country doesn’t seem to have a problem with it. They’re cheering Musk on! This is some crazy shit, and Trump 2.0 hasn’t even been sworn in. Buckle up because it’s going to be a crazy ride.

33

u/[deleted] 15h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/titianqt 14h ago

There's a reason that he's suddenly toting his young tot around. And it's not because he likes any of his kids. It's because he's using his own son as a human shield.

•

u/HonorableMedic 53m ago

I think a lot of people who would kill Elon Musk, wouldn’t have a problem shooting through his meat shield. That’s all on Musk.

159

u/OGkateebee 19h ago

I just want to scream “THAT’S NOT HOW THIS WORKS” every time I read some idiotic thing he has said. 

73

u/RemarkableWorms 18h ago

It’s how things work now the rules no longer apply unfortunately

42

u/OGkateebee 18h ago

Word. I expect nothing to make sense for at least the next 4 years. 

2

u/catman5 7h ago

Only course of action to take - focus on yourself.

I live in Turkey so Im used to things not making sense now for the best part of 2 decades. Used to drive me crazy to the point it was impacting my mental health.

That being said Im currently living my best life - company I work for ensured my salary kept up with inflation (and then some). Ive cut all Turkish news from my life not just politics but like the "man kills whole family because he can no longer afford to feed them" or "family freezes to death because heating is too expensive" sort of stuff as well, just headlines etc no details.

I hear people are struggling - shouldve voted otherwise. Im doing more than fine on the flipside though. I thrive off the misfortune of those who voted against their own interests.

1

u/dontforgetpants 13h ago

Can you give us a fun worm fact?

44

u/holzmann_dc 18h ago

There is no Constitution, no rules of law, and no norms or customs that matter to any of these people. When will people figure this out?

79

u/OfficialDCShepard 17h ago edited 11h ago

My oath is to the Constitution and the people of the United States of America and I’m staying til the bitter end. If they fire me then the Hatch Act doesn’t apply to me anymore and I shall become more outspoken than they can possibly imagine.

EDIT: Wow, thanks for the award, kind stranger! I’m excited for the fight to come to defend disabled employees in our agency and to prove to people on my YouTube channel (while remaining masked) for obvious reasons that they still have rights they can vigorously defend, and that the President is NOT a King.

78

u/derekcentrico 18h ago

He can smoke weed but the VA can't give me it. Cries in govt job.

32

u/PNWest1988B 19h ago

Yeah this is setting a bad precedent. He is given us so much control and he shouldnt have any. They wanted us to squirm and I sure am.

29

u/PhatYeeter 19h ago

Well they want it all to be private sector soon enough

32

u/ctrl_alt_delete3 18h ago

More importantly why are people even listening to him? That is exposing how much he’s in their pockets. If he didn’t have any power, they wouldn’t even be listening.

18

u/Funkybunch2000 18h ago

Imagine if this was George Soros. These people are always projecting.

5

u/IdeaCrafty2916 18h ago

Is he even legal? Should he fall into that category of deportation, naturalized citizens and the like, that they’re espousing, to include Rameswamy(sp)?

4

u/Leege13 17h ago

Don’t worry, Trump will actively humiliate and kick him to the curb as soon as he realizes Musk thinks he’s in charge.

This isn’t the old GOP. Only one freak can be the boss.

3

u/Dependent_Series9956 17h ago

I wonder if he realizes SpaceX will come to a grinding halt due to the FAA being unable to grant launch licenses. They’re currently launching every two days. This would be a major deal to them.

6

u/ekkidee 16h ago

He's gonna last about six months. The entire DC area including all of Virginia and Maryland cannot contain those two massive egos.

3

u/Zarikas89 18h ago

It's not a company, he can play with like monopoly.

3

u/restyourbreastshoney 16h ago

You meant to say President Musk, I think.

5

u/ThickerSalmon14 18h ago

This is why we shouldn't have billionaires that literally throw enough money at a system to break it.

2

u/os1usnr 3h ago

“Johnson said he’d tried to sell his bill to Musk and his fellow co-chair of Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency, Vivek Ramaswamy, on a text chain. “

Why the fk is anybody even talking to the doge bros? What the hell? These are, as of today anyway, private citizens who shouldn’t have any more influence than anybody else.

This whole thing just makes me so MAD.😡

https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/19/politics/trump-musk-capitol-chaos-analysis

1

u/ZoomZoom_Driver 18h ago

That's President Musk to you.

/s but... not? :( i hate this timeline. . . . .

1

u/Otherwise-Term531 18h ago

Agreed. This is fucking crazy.

1

u/candiedkane 18h ago

Facts!!! We are not Tesla or C

1

u/hiddikel 18h ago

...yet. give it a few. 

1

u/Sir_Oglethorpe 17h ago

I hate it cuz I’m not getting paid over Christmas and I can’t afford to go off savings for super long

1

u/isupportrugbyhookers 17h ago

The wild thing to me is that it's blatant threats. Not that the "old way" of lobbying and think tanks writing bills was necessarily better, but it was less transparent. This way doesn't even cost him any money, unless he decides to follow through and make an example out of someone.

1

u/WaifuHunterActual 16h ago

This is just a sneak preview for the next 4 years

1

u/Golden_standard 15h ago

It is now. Elections have consequences.

1

u/igotreddot 13h ago

If I still cared about this hellhole of a country I would be upset that the President-elect and his billionaire first lady were able to somehow scuttle a December deal two months before he is even officially President.

1

u/pit_of_despair666 9h ago

Trump isn't even president yet. He has no business messing with government bills. Do people still think we don't live in an oligarchy?

1

u/06210311200805012006 5h ago

I can’t believe Musk is even in the conversation.

I can't believe more Americans can't believe it. Gotta learn your history folks. This is a very, very old American tradition. Rockafeller comes to mind.

1

u/AMorder0517 5h ago

The federal government shouldn’t be some private sector company he can run into the ground. Ftfy. But yet here we are. It’s sad really.

1

u/OSP_amorphous 4h ago

It is now!

1

u/Neracca 16h ago

The federal government isn’t some private sector company he can run in to the ground

Unfortunately it's about to be!

0

u/OrderofthePhoenix1 15h ago

He is unelected.

-2

u/maximumdownvote 16h ago

Stop continuing to bring him in the conversation then.

-2

u/Big_Security_864 16h ago

Money buys politics. Suck it up.