WASHINGTON–U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) released the following statement after voting for a short-term deal to keep the government open and deliver disaster aid to impacted communities in Connecticut and across the country.

“The government almost shut down because the only thing co-presidents Elon Musk and Donald Trump care about is making themselves and their billionaire friends richer – it’s that simple. The past 48 hours were a hostage-taking exercise that put millions of families in the lurch just days before Christmas, all in the name of raising the debt ceiling so Trump can finance a giant tax break for billionaires in January. And now that Trump and Musk didn’t get their way, they’ve hatched an even more shameful plan to cut Medicare, Medicaid, and veterans benefits by $2.5 trillion instead. This ‘Billionaire First’ agenda is what we have to look forward to next year.”

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