On November 19, 2024, US President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk watched the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket in Brownsville, Texas.
Brandon Bell | via Reuters
As Congress regroups after another government shutdown was averted, Democratic lawmakers are increasingly questioning Musk’s influence over President-elect Donald Trump as he prepares to move to the White House in weeks.
Last week, Trump, with Musk’s help, effectively vetoed a 1,500-page bipartisan funding bill drafted by House Speaker Mike Johnson to fund the government beyond Friday. After 11 hours of negotiations, Congress and President Joe Biden finally passed a bill early Saturday morning.
But Musk faced criticism from some Democrats who said his tweets interfered with the legislative process. Musk, who has more than 208 million followers on X, formerly known as Twitter, expressed his opposition to the bill in dozens of posts.
“Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill should be voted out of office within two years!” Musk release Wednesday afternoon.
His comments led some Trump critics to point out that Musk seemed to be calling the shots and deride him as “President Musk.” In response, Musk tried dilute Regarding these claims, Trump’s spokesperson issued a statement saying, “President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Period.”
Still, some lawmakers think otherwise. House Democrats Jim McGovern of Massachusetts and Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut explain Their Republican colleagues gave in to Musk’s demands, which they believed was because of Musk’s interest in maintaining good relations with China.
In response, Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., told CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday morning that he “didn’t think that was the core of the issue” in the 1,500-page , and emphasized the need for Republicans to work together due to their slim majorities.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., also blasted Musk for his role in the legislative process. Post a message“Last time I checked, no one voted for the richest man in the world to run the federal government.”
Legislators react to power dynamics
In an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Tennessee Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty praised Musk’s ability to “bring transparency to the proposed bill” by posting on X, adding , after Musk posted, his office received calls from constituents.
“Thank God Musk bought Twitter because that’s the only way we know what’s in the bill,” Hagerty said. “Otherwise, the conspiracy between the government and Twitter will continue and it will all be covered up. “
Asked about the balance of power between Trump and Musk, Hagerty said Trump is “clearly the leader.”
Texas Republican Rep. Tony Gonzalez said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation” that he believes Musk reflects the voice of the American people.
“It’s interesting. We have a president, we have a vice president, we have a spokesman. It feels like Elon Musk is our prime minister,” Gonzalez said, emphasizing that as Trump prepares to take office Republicans need to stay united.
That sentiment was echoed by Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., who told CNN’s “State of the Union” that last week’s chaos “is a harbinger of what’s to come.” Something that could happen again in March,” when the deal expires and Congress reconvenes. to the negotiating table.
He also highlighted the lack of unity among Republicans in last week’s negotiations and said he believed the party would have difficulty passing much of Trump’s agenda once he takes office.
“We’re not just going to have President-elect Trump angrily tweeting at 4 a.m. as a billionaire, we’re going to have Elon Musk injecting disbelief into how we solve our country’s very complex and important problems,” Coons said. stabilizing factors.
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