Texas Gov. Greg Abbott applauded Elon Musk's commitment to stopping government waste after the tech billionaire — who heads the "Department of Government Efficiency" task force to try to cut $2 trillion from the budget — vowed to block the federal government from funding the construction of a new football stadium for the Washington Commanders in the omnibus spending deal.
The only problem: it was false.
The flap began when Mario Nawfal, a right-wing social media influencer, posted on Musk's X platform that "Buried in the 1,547-page omnibus bill is a provision to facilitate a $3 billion stadium in Washington, D.C."
Musk quickly replied, "This should not be funded by your tax dollars!"
Abbott cheered Musk on, chiming in, "Good catch, Elon. You are doing a great job."
But according to Washington Post reporter Aaron Blake, none of this is true.
"The thing is not only not in the spending deal; the spending deal explicitly prohibits it," Blake wrote.
Indeed, Page 233 of the continuing resolution contains a passage titled, "PROHIBITING USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS FOR STADIUM," which reads, "The Declaration of Covenants entered into under subsection (a)(1) shall include provisions to ensure that the District may not use Federal funds for stadium purposes on the Campus, including training facilities, offices, and other structures necessary to support a stadium."
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Nawfal appeared to backtrack upon being confronted with this information, editing his post on X to read, "Buried in Congress’s 1,547-page spending bill is a provision transferring the RFK Stadium site to D.C., setting the stage for a new Commanders stadium" — which is still a misleading explanation of the bill.
In fact, according to sports reporter A.J. Perez, "D.C. already has a lease for the land for stadium use. The bill creates a new 99-year lease and expands the use of the land from just a stadium to parks, housing and other possibilities. There's still no guarantee the Commanders will relocate there."
Musk thrust Washington into chaos Wednesday by whipping Republicans in Congress against passing the spending bill altogether, threatening primary challenges against any Republican who votes for it, and demanding that nothing be passed until Trump has been sworn in. Lawmakers could be forced to hastily write a new, smaller stopgap bill, and a government shutdown has become more likely.