Musk and Ramaswamy slam ‘censorship’ office bill – Washington Examiner
Elon Musk and vivek Ramaswamy are spearheading a new initiative called the Department of government Efficiency aimed at reducing federal spending. They have expressed strong opposition to a proposal embedded in a lengthy spending bill that would extend the operations of a controversial office within the State Department known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC). This provision is stirring discontent among Republican lawmakers, who are accusing House Speaker Mike Johnson and other congressional leaders of yielding to Democratic pressures to maintain the GEC’s funding.
The GEC, which was established in 2016, has come under scrutiny for its connections to censorship practices, notably after reports indicated it funded a British group that created a blacklist targeting conservative media outlets. Despite the State Department’s prior notification in December about plans to shut down the GEC, the new spending bill, a massive 1,500-page document designed to avert a government shutdown, aims to reauthorize it for another year.
Musk and Ramaswamy have taken to social media to highlight these concerns, arguing against spending taxpayer money on initiatives perceived as suppressive. Musk remarked that no legislation should be passed until the incoming president takes office,while Ramaswamy echoed similar sentiments about the implications of such funding on free speech and censorship.
Musk and Ramaswamy take aim at spending provision giving ‘censorship’ office lifeline
Businessmen Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who will lead a new group called the Department of Government Efficiency to cut federal spending, are raising concerns over a proposal that would extend the lifeline of a controversial State Department-housed office.
The provision has caused an uproar among Republican offices on Capitol Hill, where conservative lawmakers say House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and congressional leaders are caving to Democrats to save the Global Engagement Center. It was tucked into a 1,500-page spending bill to prevent a government shutdown ahead of the House and Senate adjourning for Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s holidays.
STATE DEPARTMENT ‘CENSORSHIP’ OFFICE FINDS LIFELINE IN 1,500-PAGE SPENDING BILL
If passed, the provision would mean the GEC is reauthorized for another year despite the State Department notifying Congress in December that it had planned to shutter the office after GOP lawmakers launched investigations into its ties to speech suppression.
The Washington Examiner first reported that the GEC funded a British group called the Global Disinformation Index, which crafted a blacklist of conservative media outlets to defund them and worked to pressure advertisers.
On Wednesday, Musk and Ramaswamy took to X, Musk’s platform, to put the GEC provision on blast. Many conservative Republicans in the House and Senate did the same, citing reports from the Washington Examiner and by independent journalist Matt Taibbi on the GEC. Formed in 2016, the GEC had an eight-year authorization and had been set to expire at the end of this year — barring lawmakers intervening.
“No bills should be passed [by] Congress until Jan. 20,” Musk said, when President-elect Donald Trump “takes office. None. Zero.”
“They want to spend YOUR tax dollars on censoring YOU!!” Musk also said.
On Wednesday, Musk followed up with a post in response to Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) raising concerns over the GEC provision, writing, “Kill the bill.”
Ramaswamy also pointed to the provision.
“The bill should fail,” he said on Wednesday.
“A ‘Continuing Resolution’ whose purpose is supposedly to keep the government open is 1,500+ pages long & full of indefensible baggage: 72 pages worth of ‘Pandemic Preparedness and Response’ policy [and] Renewal of the ‘Global Engagement Center,’ a key player in federal censorship,” Ramaswamy also said.
On Wednesday, the State Department declined to comment when reached by the Washington Examiner. Johnson defended the GEC provision.
“Speaker Johnson has killed multiple efforts to pass a 5-year reauthorization of the GEC during the past year, including as recently as the National Defense Authorization Act last week,” a spokesperson for Johnson said. “This bill ensures the incoming Trump Administration has the maximum ability and authority to determine how to handle the office, its authorities, and funding.”
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