On Wednesday, those who frequent the social media platform X witnessed one of the most heartening spectacles in American history.
Led by X owner Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to co-direct the new waste- and bureaucracy-slashing “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), ordinary Americans conducted a massive pressure campaign that helped kill a ghastly federal spending bill, more than 1,500 pages in length, thereby preventing big-government Democrats and their Republican allies in Congress from enjoying the ill-gotten fruits of business as usual.
Amid that campaign, Ramaswamy posted on X a 75-word example of a proper, pork-free continuing resolution.
“Yes, it *is* possible to enact a simple 1-page Continuing Resolution, instead of 1,500+ page omnibus pork-fest. Here it is,” Ramaswamy tweeted.
In the example provided, he struck out the termination date from a prior appropriations bill and added “March 14, 2025.”
“This is what a clean CR looks like” he added in a follow-up tweet. “I still don’t love it because it permits the historical spending excesses to continue, but at bare minimum, we shouldn’t be stacking even more waste on top.”
This is what a clean CR looks like. I still don’t love it because it permits the historical spending excesses to continue, but at bare minimum, we shouldn’t be stacking even more waste on top.
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 18, 2024
Above all, readers must understand and appreciate the context of Ramaswamy’s efforts.
First, on Tuesday, the incoming DOGE co-director publicly announced that he expected elected officials to match his own work ethic. He did that, however, not in a self-congratulatory way but for the sake of Americans’ interests.
“Currently reading the 1,547-page bill to fund the government through mid-March. Expecting every U.S. Congressman & Senator to do the same,” he tweeted.
Currently reading the 1,547-page bill to fund the government through mid-March. Expecting every U.S. Congressman & Senator to do the same.
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 18, 2024
Then, on Wednesday morning, he announced the results of his extensive reading and deliberation.
In short, he characterized the bill as “full of excessive spending, special interest giveaways & pork barrel politics.”
“If Congress wants to get serious about government efficiency, they should VOTE NO,” he added as part of a lengthy analysis.
I wanted to read the full 1,500+ page bill & speak with key leaders before forming an opinion. Having done that, here’s my view: it’s full of excessive spending, special interest giveaways & pork barrel politics. If Congress wants to get serious about government efficiency, they…
— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) December 18, 2024
That got Musk’s attention.
“The more I learn, the more obvious it becomes that this spending bill is a crime,” the X owner wrote, retweeting Ramaswamy’s analysis.
The more I learn, the more obvious it becomes that this spending bill is a crime.
It even includes funding for the worst illegal censorship operation in the entire government (GEC)!! https://t.co/P8a3m0OpJR
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2024
Musk then spent the bulk of the day tweeting in opposition to the bill and amplifying others who did likewise.
Within hours, the pressure campaign on Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and others began to bear fruit.
Then, reports emerged that Trump also opposed the bill.
“Big news from @FoxNews @LawrenceBJones3: President Trump says he’s “totally against” the monstrous omnibus CR bill. @elonmusk also opposes it and signaled that any Republican voting for it should lose their seat. X raising the alarm might really kill this bill,” one X user wrote.
Big news from @FoxNews @LawrenceBJones3: President Trump says he’s “totally against” the monstrous omnibus CR bill.@elonmusk also opposes it and signaled that any Republican voting for it should lose their seat. X raising the alarm might really kill this bill.
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) December 18, 2024
Finally, Vice President-elect JD Vance posted a statement from himself and Trump denouncing the bill.
A statement from President Donald J. Trump and Vice President-Elect JD Vance:
The most foolish and inept thing ever done by Congressional Republicans was allowing our country to hit the debt ceiling in 2025. It was a mistake and is now something that must be addressed.…
— JD Vance (@JDVance) December 18, 2024
All of that came from Ramaswamy’s careful review of a bill that every honest and reasonable American regards as theft.
In the broadest sense, Wednesday’s events represented a breathtaking victory for self-government. No one who witnessed it or participated in the pressure campaign had ever seen anything like it.
Amid that glorious victory, of course, one should not lose sight of Ramaswamy’s very practical — and promising — model of an appropriate CR.
If one half of DOGE can slash a 1,500-page bill to just 75 words, imagine what a whole DOGE can do to the entire federal government.
