The failure of the slimmer government funding bill backed by President-elect Donald Trump and meme-wielding billionaire Elon Musk pushed the federal government closer to a midnight Friday shutdown. But it also gave new life to D.C.’s efforts to lure the Commanders back to their ancestral home.
“We aren’t dead yet,” a congressional source told Front Office Sports after the House voted down an alternative spending bill, 174–235, Thursday night.
The RFK Stadium bill and the continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through March was put in doubt after Musk uncorked a series of tweets about the size of the bill along with proclaiming a potential stadium for the Commanders in D.C. “should not be funded by your tax dollars!”
Ultimately, the RFK provision—which would let D.C. develop the land where the stadium is still being demolished—was removed from the most recent, slimmer funding bill.
Since it was introduced in the House in July 2023, the RFK Stadium bill has never had any funding attached to it. In fact, the version that exited the House Oversight Committee and was approved by a 348–55 vote in the GOP-controlled House in February already included language that guarded against the very thing Musk called out. “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,” the bill states.
The Wednesday tweet—which now has about 17 million views—sent proponents of the bill scrambling and then bracing for the fallout over the misinformation.
“The Musk tweet barrage was something,” a league source told FOS.
The bill was part of the original 1,547-page CR made public Wednesday before Trump and Musk pressured House Speaker Mike Johnson to create a shorter alternative before the CR got a vote. That alternative was the 116-page bill that lacked the RFK Stadium bill and several other legislative priorities across Congress.
Even before the vote, backers of the RFK Stadium bill saw a sliver of hope as it appeared Johnson lacked the necessary support to get the alternative bill passed.
“NFL pressure could work,” another congressional source told FOS. “That’s probably the best hope.”
A short time later, the new spending bill didn’t come close to garnering a majority, let alone the necessary two-thirds needed to send it to the Senate and avoid the first shutdown in six years. It wasn’t clear Thursday night what Johnson and other GOP leaders in the House would do to gather needed support from Democrats without drawing the ire of Trump and Musk.
Musk continued to tweet about his failed legislative effort and continued to repost influencer Mario Nawfal, whose Wednesday tweet falsely claimed the CR contained “$3-BILLION FOR …A NEW NFL STADIUM IN D.C.” Nawfal edited the original tweet, but by that time Musk had already amplified the fake news.
Nawfal viewed multiple direct messages from FOS but has not responded.
Could the RFK Stadium bill land up in a new spending bill? “Possible,” a Senate source said. “I wouldn’t be surprised either way.”
