{"id":2381569,"date":"2024-12-18T16:27:01","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T21:27:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/musk-and-ramaswamy-slam-censorship-office-bill-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-12-18T16:28:53","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T21:28:53","slug":"musk-and-ramaswamy-slam-censorship-office-bill-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/musk-and-ramaswamy-slam-censorship-office-bill-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Musk and Ramaswamy slam &#8216;censorship&#8217; office bill &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmusk-and-ramaswamy-slam-censorship-office-bill-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2381569&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Elon Musk \u2062and vivek Ramaswamy are spearheading a \u200bnew \u200binitiative called the Department\u200b of government Efficiency aimed at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-federal-reserve-has-some-very-bad-news-for-biden-and-the-democrats\/\" title=\"The Federal Reserve Has Some Very Bad News for Biden and the Democrats\">reducing federal spending<\/a>. They have expressed strong \u200dopposition to a proposal embedded in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/state-department-censor-office-finds-lifeline-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"State Department &#039;censor&#039; office finds lifeline - Washington Examiner\">lengthy spending bill<\/a> that would extend the operations \u2064of 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 \u2064pressures to maintain the GEC&#8217;s funding.<\/p>\n<p>The GEC, \u2062which was established in 2016, has come under scrutiny for its connections to censorship practices, notably\u2062 after reports indicated it funded a British group\u2064 that created a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">blacklist targeting\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/is-anyone-more-annoying-or-treacherous-than-barack-obama\/\" title=\"Is Anyone More Annoying or Treacherous than Barack Obama?\">conservative media outlets<\/a><\/a>. \u2063Despite the State Department&#8217;s prior notification in December about\u2063 plans \u200dto shut \u200cdown \u2064the GEC, the new \u2064spending bill, a massive 1,500-page document designed to avert a government shutdown, aims to reauthorize it for another year.<\/p>\n<p>Musk and Ramaswamy \u2063have taken to social \u2062media to highlight these concerns, \u2062arguing 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 \u200cthe implications of such\u2064 funding on free speech and censorship.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Musk and Ramaswamy take aim at spending provision giving &lsquo;censorship&rsquo; office lifeline<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1915559\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Businessmen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/elon-musk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Elon Musk\">Elon Musk<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/vivek-ramaswamy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Vivek Ramaswamy\">Vivek Ramaswamy<\/a>, who will lead a new group called the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/3257872\/blackburn-tenney-doge-act-cut-federal-waste\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Department of Government Efficiency<\/a> to cut federal spending, are raising concerns over a proposal that would extend the lifeline of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/3263812\/state-department-censorship-lifeline-spending-bill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">controversial State Department-housed office<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The provision <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/3263812\/state-department-censorship-lifeline-spending-bill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">has caused an uproar<\/a> 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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3262016\/congress-reaches-cr-spending-deal-government-shutdown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">1,500-page spending bill<\/a> to prevent a government shutdown ahead of the House and Senate adjourning for Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year&rsquo;s holidays.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/3263812\/state-department-censorship-lifeline-spending-bill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">STATE DEPARTMENT &lsquo;CENSORSHIP&rsquo; OFFICE FINDS LIFELINE IN 1,500-PAGE SPENDING BILL<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If passed, the provision would mean the GEC is reauthorized for another year despite the State Department <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/3255734\/state-department-congress-close-global-engagement-center\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">notifying Congress in December<\/a> that it had planned to shutter the office after GOP lawmakers launched investigations into its ties to speech suppression.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> first reported that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2749593\/disinformation-inc-meet-the-groups-hauling-in-cash-to-secretly-blacklist-conservative-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">GEC funded a British group<\/a> called the Global Disinformation Index, which crafted a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/finance\/2773271\/disinformation-inc-state-department-bankrolls-group-secretly-blacklisting-conservative-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">blacklist of conservative media outlets<\/a> to defund them and worked to pressure advertisers. <\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, Musk and Ramaswamy took to X, Musk&rsquo;s platform, to put the GEC provision on blast. Many conservative Republicans in the House and Senate did the same, citing reports from the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> 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 &mdash; barring lawmakers intervening. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;No bills should be passed [by] Congress until Jan. 20,&rdquo; Musk said, when President-elect Donald Trump &ldquo;takes office. None. Zero.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They want to spend YOUR tax dollars on censoring YOU!!&rdquo; Musk also said. <\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, Musk followed up <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1869479299121823760\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"with a post\">with a post<\/a> in response to Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) raising concerns over the GEC provision, writing, &ldquo;Kill the bill.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">No bills should be passed Congress until Jan 20, when <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@realDonaldTrump<\/a> takes office.<\/p>\n<p>None.<\/p>\n<p>Zero.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1869461048828522999?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 18, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Kill the Bill <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/D2Yntonrcv\">https:\/\/t.co\/D2Yntonrcv<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1869479299121823760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 18, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Ramaswamy also pointed to the provision. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The bill should fail,&rdquo; he <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/VivekGRamaswamy\/status\/1869451701029396927\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">said<\/a> on Wednesday. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;A &lsquo;Continuing Resolution&rsquo; whose purpose is supposedly to keep the government open is 1,500+ pages long &amp; full of indefensible baggage: 72 pages worth of &lsquo;Pandemic Preparedness and Response&rsquo; policy [and] Renewal of the &lsquo;Global Engagement Center,&rsquo; a key player in federal censorship,&rdquo; Ramaswamy also said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A &ldquo;Continuing Resolution&rdquo; whose purpose is supposedly to keep the government open is 1,500+ pages long &amp; full of indefensible baggage:<br \/>&ndash; 72 pages worth of &ldquo;Pandemic Preparedness and Response&rdquo; policy<br \/>&ndash; Renewal of the &#8220;Global Engagement Center,&#8221; a key player in federal censorship<br \/>-&hellip;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/VivekGRamaswamy\/status\/1869447530142106049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 18, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, the State Department declined to comment when reached by the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. Johnson defended the GEC provision.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;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,&rdquo; a spokesperson for Johnson said. &ldquo;This bill ensures the incoming Trump Administration has the maximum ability and authority to determine how to handle the office, its authorities, and funding.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1915559\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1915559\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Musk and Ramaswamy criticize spending plan aiding &#8216;censorship&#8217; office<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":381,"featured_media":2381570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/elon-vivek-diptych.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[6371,4762,4250,18538],"class_list":["post-2381569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-censorship","tag-legislation","tag-musk","tag-ramaswamy"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/elon-vivek-diptych.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/381"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2381569"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381569\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2381573,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2381569\/revisions\/2381573"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2381570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2381569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2381569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2381569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}