Elon Musk learned something new today. It’s possible to cut spending through Senate legislation that only requires a majority vote, meaning Republicans could get it done without a single Democrat vote if they can get all but two GOP Senators to agree.
The billionaire leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was “elated” by the news, as I discussed on today’s episode of The JD Rucker Show. Here’s the skinny from Axios…
(Axios)—Elon Musk and Republican senators are eyeing a package to claw back tens or hundreds of billions of dollars in federal spending after meeting in a closed-door lunch on Wednesday.
Why it matters: Musk has been leading the charge on spending cuts from the White House. Some lawmakers want to make his actions more permanent by making them law.
- No decisions have been made, but there was some early, general support for the idea being pushed by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) after the lunch.
An infamous deficit hawk, Paul pitched Elon Musk on a massive rescission package during a lunch on Wednesday, he told reporters. Such a package would undo federal funding already approved by Congress.
- The bill would also only require 51 votes to pass the Senate — no Democrats needed.
- Paul said specific numbers weren’t discussed, but he’d like to see $500 billion.
Zoom in: Musk “was elated” at the idea, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) told reporters. “I think he didn’t realize it could be done at 51.”
- “I do think there is a genuine appetite to continue this work within the legislative branch,” Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) said after the lunch.
- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he backs Paul’s plan.
Between the lines: President Trump has looked at ways to get around the 1974 Impoundment Control Act, which limits the president’s power to withhold funds already appropriated by Congress.
- The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled against Trump, requiring roughly $1.9 billion in foreign aid via USAID still be disbursed.
- “This Court does not look like it’s warming towards the impoundment theory,” Hawley said.
- It’s not a good sign for other actions DOGE might want to take to cut spending without Congress.
Flashback: Republicans attempted to roll back $15 billion in government spending with a rescission package during the first Trump administration.
- But it failed due to “no” votes from Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.).
- Collins is now chair of the Senate appropriations committee, which plays a key role in the rescission process.
Independent Journalism Is Dying
Ever since President Trump’s miraculous victory, we’ve heard an incessant drumbeat about how legacy media is dying. This is true. The people have awakened to the reality that they’re being lied to by the self-proclaimed “Arbiters of Truth” for the sake of political expediency, corporate self-protection, and globalist ambitions.
But even as independent journalism rises to fill the void left by legacy media, there is still a huge challenge. Those at the top of independent media like Joe Rogan, Dan Bongino, and Tucker Carlson are thriving and rightly so. They have earned their audience and the financial rewards that come from it. They’ve taken risks and worked hard to get to where they are.
For “the rest of us,” legacy media and their proxies are making it exceptionally difficult to survive, let alone thrive. They still have a stranglehold over the “fact checkers” who have a dramatic impact on readership and viewership. YouTube, Facebook, and Google still stifle us. The freer speech platforms like Rumble and 𝕏 can only reward so many of their popular content creators. For independent journalists on the outside looking in, our only recourse is to rely on affiliates and sponsors.
But even as it seems nearly impossible to make a living, there are blessings that should not be disregarded. By highlighting strong sponsors who share our America First worldview, we have been able to make lifelong connections and even a bit of revenue to help us along. This is why we enjoy symbiotic relationships with companies like MyPillow, Jase Medical, and Promised Grounds. We help them with our recommendations and they reward us with money when our audience buys from them.
The same can be said about our preparedness sponsor, Prepper All-Naturals. Their long-term storage beef has a 25-year shelf life and is made with one ingredient: All-American Beef.
Even our faith-driven precious metals sponsor helps us tremendously while also helping Americans protect their life’s savings. We are blessed to work with them.
Independent media is the future. In many ways, that future is already here. While the phrase, “the more the merrier,” does not apply to this business because there are still some bad actors in the independent media field, there are many great ones that do not get nearly enough attention. We hope to change that one content creator at a time.
Thank you and God Bless,
JD Rucker
