Vivek Ramaswamy: Spending Bill Full of ‘Excessive Spending, Special Interest Giveaways & Pork Barrel Politics’

The spending bill negotiated by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is full of “excessive spending, special interest giveaways & pork barrel politics,” Vivek Ramaswamy, one of the leaders of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), said following the release of the controversial measure.

“I wanted to read the full 1,500+ page bill & speak with key leaders before forming an opinion,” Ramaswamy said on Wednesday following the release of the measure on Tuesday evening.

“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 should VOTE NO,” he said, providing further details.

“Keeping the government open until March 14 will cost ~$380BN by itself, but the true cost of this omnibus CR is far greater due to new spending. Renewing the Farm Bill for an extra year: ~$130BN. Disaster relief: $100BN. Stimulus for farmers: $10BN. The Francis Scott Key Bridge replacement: $8BN,” he said, explaining that the proposal “adds at least 65 cents of new spending for every dollar of continued discretionary spending.”

Further, he said the legislation only ends up hurting people it says it will help:

Debt-fueled spending sprees may “feel good” today, but it’s like showering cocaine on an addict: it’s not compassion, it’s cruelty. Farmers will see more land sold to foreign buyers when taxes inevitably rise to meet our obligations. Our children will be saddled with crippling debt. Interest payments will be the largest item in our national budget.

Congress has known about this deadline since they created it in late September. There’s no reason why this couldn’t have gone through the standard process, instead of being rushed to a vote right before Congressmen want to go home for the holidays. The urgency is 100% manufactured & designed to avoid serious public debate.

Ramaswamy concluded that the bill could have been under 20 pages, blasting the measure for containing “dozens of unrelated policy items crammed into the 1,547 pages of this bill”:

There’s no legitimate reason for them to be voted on as a package deal by a lame-duck Congress. 72 pages worth of “Pandemic Preparedness and Response” policy; renewal of the much-criticized “Global Engagement Center,” a key player in the federal censorship state; 17 different pieces of Commerce legislation; paving the way for a new football stadium in D.C.; a pay raise for Congressmen & Senators and making them eligible for Federal Employee Health Benefits. It’s indefensible to ram these measures through at the last second without debate.

The former presidential candidate added that he is grateful that DOGE has been such a welcomed concept on Capitol Hill. However, he said “actions speak louder than words.”

“This is an early test,” he warned. “The bill should fail.”

Elon Musk has also blasted the measure.

“The more I learn, the more obvious it becomes that this spending bill is a crime,” Musk said. “It even includes funding for the worst illegal censorship operation in the entire government (GEC)!!”

It is possible that members of Congress could be forced to vote on the measure as early as Wednesday afternoon, flouting the standard 72-hour expectation.