House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) criticized Republicans for tanking a bipartisan government funding agreement, saying the party was bending to the will of wealthy backers and “puppeteers.”
The lawmaker’s remarks were a direct attack on billionaire Elon Musk, whose displeasure with the spending bill — aired on X, the social media site he owns — precipitated holiday season chaos in Washington. President-elect Donald Trump demanded Republicans put forward last-minute changes, including raising or eliminating the debt ceiling.
But the effort bombed Thursday night after many Republicans and almost every Democrat refused to go along with it, raising the stakes of a government shutdown just days before Christmas.
