co-host Jessica Tarlov criticized for getting involved in Congress’ spending bill deliberations—and took particular umbrage at the fact that funding for a program researching pediatric cancer got stripped from a measure that Musk and President-elect Donald Trump blew up Wednesday night in dramatic fashion. The Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program was in 2014 with funding approved by Congress for the next ten years. On Wednesday, it was all set to have its funding reauthorized—until Musk and Trump demanded a slimmed-down funding bill Wednesday night, tanking a bipartisan agreement at the 11th hour in dramatic fashion.
On , Tarlov said the cost of funding the program—$190 million—was miniscule when compared to what was in the original bill. “The richest man in the world wanted this. Elon Musk did,” Tarlov said.
“What’s your problem with a bipartisan cancer research for $190 million? A drop in the bucket of what this is. Those are the kinds of things that came out of this." I’ve been fighting to fund the Gabriella Miller Kids First childhood cancer research program since the day I came to Congress.
It has wide bipartisan support. Now extreme Republicans are caving to the world’s richest man so he & Donald Trump can pay for their personal tax cuts. — Rep.
Jennifer Wexton (@RepWexton) Some lawmakers, like Virginia Rep. Jennifer Wexton, also brought attention to the program being omitted from the latest version of the bill—which later Thu.