Hillary Clinton says Republicans are following orders from 'the richest man in the world' to shut down the government

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday denounced Elon Musk's influence on the Capitol spending drama.

“If you're just catching up: The Republican Party, following orders from the richest man in the world, is about to shut down the government for the holidays, cutting pay for our troops and nutrition benefits for low-income families just in time for Christmas,” the 2016 presidential candidate wrote on X.

Clinton, a former first lady and senator, served in Congress from 2001 to 2009.

His comments come just as House Speaker Mike Johnson released a new version of a continuing resolution, or CR, aimed at keeping the government open beyond Friday night's deadline.

Former Sec. Head of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday denounced Elon Musk's influence on the Capitol spending drama. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Musk came out strongly against the initial spending deal Johnson negotiated with Democrats, threatening to support a primary challenge to any Republican who voted for it.

Without an acceptable deal to push back the government funding deadline to March and keep spending at 2024 levels, the government will enter a partial shutdown at midnight on Saturday.

'HELL NO': HOUSE DEMS BURST TO FOLLOW GOP SPENDING DEAL

But House Democrats are balking at the latest iteration of a spending plan. And with $36 trillion in debt and an $1.8 trillion deficit in 2024, some conservatives are against a CR, which pushes the funding deadline to March and keeps spending entirely at 2024 levels.

“The Musk-Johnson proposal is not serious, it is laughable. Extremist MAGA Republicans are leading us to a government shutdown,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., said Democratic leaders would urge their members to vote “no” on the deal.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, lamented that the latest deal was destroyed by opposition from conservatives, with input from DOGE leaders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.

“Everyone agreed,” he said, “and then it was blown up by Elon Musk, who apparently became the fourth branch of government. And that's just an intolerable way to do it. “

“Democrats are going to try to figure out how we can save the public good from the rubble that has just been pushed over.”

Chants of “no!” » could be heard in the room where Democrats were meeting after the publication of the text of the bill.

Elon Musk threatened to support primary challenges against anyone who voted for the CR. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

HERE'S WHAT HAPPENS DURING A PARTIAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

The latest continuing resolution, or CR, would extend current government funding levels for three months and also suspend the debt ceiling for two years, which President-elect Trump has demanded.

This comes after the original 1,500-page CR sparked opposition from the right, due to political and financial conditions.

House lawmakers could vote on the new bill as early as Thursday evening.

It's not immediately clear whether the new deal will pass — Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who also led opposition to the original bill, also criticized the new deal.

“No more debt. No more government. Raising credit cards by $4 trillion with ZERO restrictions and spending cuts. HARD NO,” Roy wrote on X.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP