Trump, Musk Deals with GOP Coups, Ticket Stop Act and Spending Rules
President-elect Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk orchestrated a GOP coup that killed a key government spending bill, stalling passage of the Ticket Act With proposed legislation to protect ticket buyers mentioned a current spending freeze aimed at preventing a government shutdown
What the TICKET Act would do
The ticketing bill, which passed with strong bipartisan support in the House, was expected to become law as part of the funding package. You would have:
Mandatory “all-in” ticket prices nationwide.
Measurement tickets are prohibited.
Refunds are required for postponed or canceled events.
they cracked down on fraudulent ticket resale websites.
Consumer advocates hailed the law as a major step toward greater transparency in the ticketing industry. But the addition to the spending drew criticism from industry insiders and Live Nation Entertainment allies.
Trump, Musk are leading the charge
Musk, who was tapped to lead the Government Department’s push for efficiency under Trump, took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to denounce the spending bill.
“Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 18, 2016.
Trump and Musk’s push for narrower emergency funding regulations obviously means that the TICKET Act will not survive in its current form
Corporate response is lobbying efforts
While venue advocacy groups such as Live Nation Entertainment and NIVA initially expressed support for the ticketing bill, efforts to remove its provision from the budget have intensified
Industry Backlash and Lobbying Efforts
While Live Nation Entertainment and venue advocacy groups like NIVA initially expressed support for the TICKET Act, lobbying efforts intensified to remove its provisions from the spending package.
According to sources familiar with the negotiations, some groups hoped to replace the TICKET Act with the industry-backed “Fans First Act,” designed to align more closely with Live Nation’s legislative goals.
“Federal and state lawmakers should realize that some who claim to represent venues and artists are just the same as Ticketmaster—it’s ‘my way or nothing,’” a source close to the negotiations said.