Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Now that House Speaker Mike Johnson has pulled the stopgap spending deal after a flurry of opposition from President-elect Trump's ally Elon Musk and fellow Republicans, the tech measures that were set to hitch a ride are in jeopardy.
Why it matters: Throwing out the CR threatens deepfake legislation and other tech add-ons to secure chip supply chains and counter China, sending bill sponsors back to the drawing board.
Flashback: The 1,547-page CR unveiled Tuesday night included a host of tech-related measures, most notably the TAKE IT DOWN Act, which would require platforms to remove deepfake pornography of children within 48 hours of being notified by the victim.
- Other bills to restrict U.S. money flowing to China's tech sector, secure chip supply chains, protect U.S. telecommunications networks from Beijing, and reauthorize the NTIA had also been added to that package.
- Now backers of these tech bills will have to find a new path forward.
"There is still an opportunity for inclusion. Nothing is over on Capitol Hill until a bill gets signed into law," said Americans for Responsible Innovation communications director Chris MacKenzie.
- ARI has been pushing for the TAKE IT DOWN Act and outbound investment restrictions in the CR.
Kids Online Safety Act backers have also still not given up.
- KOSA did not make it into the CR, but Musk has backed the bill and is clearly having a big impact on how lawmakers proceed.
- "Passing KOSA will cost taxpayers nothing, but will save countless children. @elonmusk," bill co-sponsor Sen. Marsha Blackburn said in a post on Wednesday.
Musk posted ceaselessly about his dislike of the CR after it dropped, writing on his social media site X to "Kill the Bill" and calling it "one of the worst bills ever written."
- He also posted that "Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!"
- After dozens of Musk's posts, Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance released a statement on Wednesday blasting the CR deal and calling instead to pass a "streamlined spending bill" and add a debt ceiling increase.
The big picture: It's not clear yet how expansively the Department of Government Efficiency, Trump's advisory commission led by Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, could impact policy.
- But they've taken their first big swing with this year-end spending package — and helped to sink it.
What's next: We'll let you know if a plan B emerges, and whether any tech measures make it onto that legislation.
- Congress faces a Friday night deadline to pass a spending bill and avoid a government shutdown.
