Ramaswamy opposes spending deal: 'Like showering cocaine on an addict'

Tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy slammed the stopgap spending deal, urging congressional members to vote against the massive bill if they are "serious about government efficiency."

Ramaswamy described the stopgap measure as "full of excessive spending, special interest giveaways and pork barrel politics" and lamented Congress for trying to rush a vote so close to the holiday season.

"The legislation will end up hurting many of the people it purports to help. Debt-fueled spending sprees may 'feel good' today, but it's like showering cocaine on an addict: it's not compassion, it's cruelty," he wrote on social platform X.

Ramaswamy is the co-leader of President-elect Trump's "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE), a panel tasked with making recommendations to cut government spending and bureaucracy.

In a lengthy post on X, Ramaswamy said keeping the government open until March 14 — the new shutdown deadline under the stopgap measure — will cost $380 billion by itself.

DOGE's co-leader Elon Musk similarly came out against the deal Tuesday night, stating the "bill should not pass" and described it as a big "piece of pork."

The opposition from Ramaswamy and Musk comes after they both spoke with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who is facing intense criticism from some of his GOP colleagues.

Republican critics argue the bill is more like a sprawling omnibus than a temporary funding measure.

Johnson said Ramaswamy and Musk expressed their concerns to the Speaker in a text chain among the three of them.

"And Vivek and I talked last night, about almost midnight, and he said, ‘Look, I get it.’ He said, ‘We understand you’re in an impossible position. Everybody knows that,'" Johnson recounted on Fox News's "Fox & Friends" Wednesday morning.

“Remember, guys, we still have just a razor-thin margin of Republicans. So any bill has to have Democratic votes,” Johnson said. “They understand the situation. He said, ‘It’s not directed to you, Mr. Speaker, but we don’t like the spending.’ I said, ‘Guess what, fellas, I don’t either.”

The stopgap measure's text, released days before the Dec. 20 shutdown deadline, aims to push the deadline and give the next Congress and incoming president more time to decide how the government should be funded for the majority of next year.

Ramaswamy alleged the timing is "manufactured and designed to avoid serious public debate," given lawmakers knew about the deadline since late September.

The bill contains numerous add-ons, including disaster assistance for hurricane damage and farmers; a health care deal that includes reforms to the pharmacy benefit manager industry; an extension of the farm bill; and a provision that opens the door to move the Washington Commanders stadium to D.C.

"The true cost of this omnibus CR is far greater due to new spending. Renewing the Farm Bill for an extra year: ~$130BN. Disaster relief: $100BN. Stimulus for farmers: $10BN. The Francis Scott Key Bridge replacement: $8BN," Ramaswamy wrote. "The proposal adds at least 65 cents of new spending for every dollar of continued discretionary spending."

"Farmers will see more land sold to foreign buyers when taxes inevitably rise to meet our obligations. Our children will be saddled with crippling debt. Interest payments will be the largest item in our national budget," he added later.

The tech entrepreneur, who launched an unsuccessful bid for president, argued the bill, which is more than 1,500 pages, could have "easily" been under 20 pages.

"Instead, there are dozens of unrelated policy items crammed into the 1,547 pages of this bill," he wrote. "There's no legitimate reason for them to be voted on as a package deal by a lame-duck Congress."

Ramaswamy and Musk visited Capitol Hill earlier this month, where they met with several lawmakers about DOGE's goals. They generally received a warm reaction, especially from those on the right.

"Nearly everyone agrees we need a smaller & more streamlined federal government, but actions speak louder than words. This is an early test. The bill should fail," Ramaswamy said in his post.

A number of GOP House members slammed the stopgap bill Tuesday as working against DOGE’s goals.

“It’s the opposite of what the DOGE commission is trying to do. So, am I voting for it? No, I’m not,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) told reporters Tuesday.

“I think that it’s shameful that people that celebrate DOGE coming in, I can’t, and yet we’re going to vote for another billion dollars to be added to the deficit, and so it’s ironic. Personally, I’m disappointed,” Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) added.

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