Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk, left, and former U.S. President Donald Trump before a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, U.S., Saturday, October 5, 2024.
Justin Merriman | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Elon Musk will join President-elect Donald Trump at a House Republican meeting in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday for the first time since his election, a Trump adviser told NBC News. Trump and Musk flew together on Trump’s plane from Florida to the U.S. capital.
The development is the latest example of how Musk, the world’s richest man and one of the top backers of Trump’s victorious campaign, is increasing his presence and influence in the future president’s orbit.
The Tesla and SpaceX executive spent last week in Palm Beach, Florida, where Trump is forming his second administration at his resort, Mar-a-Lago. The New York Times stated that Musk was with Trump in almost every meeting report.
On Tuesday night, Trump announced that “the great Elon Musk” and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy would lead an external committee called the Department of Government Effectiveness aimed at “abolition of the government bureaucracy” and Reduce regulations.
Musk was quoted in the announcement: “This will send shockwaves throughout the system and anyone involved in government waste, which is a lot of people!”
Wednesday’s meeting comes as Republicans are expected to take control not only of the White House, but also of the Senate.
Although NBC has yet to officially decide which party will control the House of Representatives in the next Congress, the Republicans appear more likely to retain their majority.
House Republicans are scheduled to hold leadership elections behind closed doors on Wednesday. They are expected to nominate Louisiana Republican Mike Johnson to remain speaker of the House of Representatives in the 119th Congress.
Trump is also scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden at the White House on Wednesday.
The meeting, a traditional gesture to support the peaceful transfer of power, did not take place when Biden defeated then-President Trump in the 2020 election. Instead, Trump refused to concede the election and sought to overturn his Electoral College defeat.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate in the 2024 race, acknowledged as much the day after the election.
Trump’s entourage for Wednesday’s trip does not include former first lady Melania Trump. The official X account representing her office confirmed her absence but wrote: “It is encouraging that her husband is back in the Oval Office to begin the transition process and she wishes him great success.”
The post did not add specific details, but added: “In this context, some unnamed sources in the media continue to provide false, misleading and inaccurate information. Please identify your news sources.”
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