Republicans revealed a new spending bill Thursday following backlash from Elon Musk that resulted in Donald Trump’s rejection of the original bill earlier this week. The new bill is slimmer than its predecessor and is missing $190 million in funding for the Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research — all because “the richest man in the world” wanted to take “$190 million away form kids with cancer,” Chris Hayes explained Thursday night.
“They cut nearly $200 million in funding for ready for this childhood cancer research called the Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program,” Hayes explained. “That’s what they cut. That program was established on a bipartisan basis under President Obama. Former Republican Leader Eric Cantor was one of the driving forces behind him.”
“Republicans tore the funding for that program out of the bill, seemingly at random, because Elon Musk told them to, so I want to be clear about what’s happened, what’s transpired in the last 24 hours?” he added. “Okay, the richest man in the world, worth $250 billion took $190 million away from kids with cancer. That’s not hyperbole. It’s not an exaggeration. That is what has happened. They cut nearly $200 million.”
The Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program was established in 2014 in honor of Miller, a 10-year-old who died from cancer the year before. The original fund lasted 10 years and was up for renewal in 2024. The program was funded in the bill presented by Republicans Wednesday.
Musk appeared thrilled with Thursday’s bill. He shared a photo of the two bills side by side on X and wrote, “Yesterday’s bill vs today’s bill” with a laughing emoji.
The House ultimately rejected the new bill 174-235 Thursday night, with nearly 30 Republicans joining Democrats in voting against it. JD Vance told reporters at the White House the bill failed “because [Democrats] didn’t want to give the president negotiating leverage during the first year of his new term.”
“They’ve asked for a shutdown,” he said. “That’s exactly what they’re going to get.”
House Republican Leader Steve Scalise also said Thursday that the GOP will not attempt to bring the same bill back to vote.
You can watch the clip from Chris Hayes in the video above.
