Reuters
KEY POINTS
- The stopgap measure includes $100 billion in disaster aid and $10 billion in aid to farmers
- Congress was under pressure to avoid a government shutdown that would have kicked off Saturday
- ‘Shut it down’ was a trending topic on X as users expressed opposition to ‘bloated’ funding
Congressional leaders have unveiled a stopgap measure to avert a serious government shutdown with the deadline fast approaching. However, the move got widespread backlash on social media as “shut it down” was a top political trend on X Tuesday night through early Wednesday.
Since lawmakers approved a continuing resolution in September to keep the government funded through Dec. 20, there have been concerns over the opposition of some hardline Republicans in the House of Representatives possibly holding up efforts to prevent a shutdown.
Republican lawmakers revealed Tuesday that negotiators reached a deal on a stopgap funding bill that includes some $100 billion in disaster aid and $10 billion in economic assistance for the agriculture sector.
It also includes over $2 billion in funding for the Small Business Administration, whose funds were dried up during the hurricane season.
The stopgap measure should give lawmakers more time to reach a bipartisan agreement on new spending bills, but ahead of the stopgap bill’s release, some GOP lawmakers already expressed opposition, including Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy, who called the bill a “crap sandwich.”
The bill would push the Friday funding deadline to March 14, allowing Congress and the new administration to iron out details and issues regarding the 2025 national budget.
X Trends / Screenshot
Meanwhile, many X users, in particular users who identify as conservatives, have also expressed opposition to the stopgap measure, with some saying it would only benefit the outgoing Biden administration. “Shut it down” was a top politics trend on Elon Musk’s social media platform overnight.
Senator Rand Paul is the only one in Congress with the backbone to call out the swamp rats for what they are: bloated, lazy, and feeding on taxpayer dollars like it is their birthright. The @GOP leadership, meanwhile, has sold out faster than a cheap fire sale, throwing their… pic.twitter.com/vF4i6NL7tx
— Allister Clisham (@AllisterClisham) December 18, 2024
Some users urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to “do your part” in blocking “super bills” that don’t have the broader American public’s benefits at heart. Some users also want the government to be shut down “until [President-elect Donald] Trump gets in.”
@RandPaul Senator Paul it’s better to have a short term shut down than pass a bill like this. Remember what Pelosi said back in the day on the Obamacare bill ‘ we have to pass it to find out what’s in it’
Please please let’s not do that and waste the mandate that the American…
— MB (@mb_boeronline) December 17, 2024
Others praised Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky for threatening to hold up the stopgap bill. “It takes courage to do the right thing,” said one user who agrees with others’ views on a short-term government shutdown being better than agreeing to a “bloated” bill.
