Explaining the Right: Why won’t Republicans let the government help people?

Conservative members of the House staged a rebellion over the past week, opposing bipartisan legislation meant to fund the federal government and avert a shutdown. The entire process has been a mess, exposing fractures between the Republican Party’s narrow majority while also catapulting multibillionaire Elon Musk to a position of enormous influence within the party.

Led by Musk, conservatives repeatedly complained about “pork” and “waste” in the bill. This argument was amplified by right-wing media, particularly Fox News.