Washington:
Elon Musk’s role in scuttling a bipartisan congressional deal to avert a U.S. government shutdown underscores his extraordinary influence over the Republican Party and the incoming Donald Trump administration.
In addition to his usual title of the world’s richest man, Democrats are now calling him “President Musk.”
Trump has tapped Musk to run the newly created Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE) agency, but the billionaire has begun flexing his influence even before the president-elect takes office on January 20.
Shortly after 4:00 a.m. Wednesday, the hyperactive owner of Tesla and SpaceX used his social platform
“This bill should not pass,” Musk, 53, wrote in his first post.
“Repeal this bill,” he advised House Republicans. “This bill is criminal.”
Many Republican lawmakers were quick to agree, some even fawningly.
“In five years in Congress, I’ve been waiting for a fundamental change in the dynamic,” Rep. Dan Bishop commented on Musk’s X post. “Already arrived.”
Other right-wing members of Congress have even suggested that South African-born Musk take over as speaker of the House of Representatives.
Later in the day, Trump himself joined the budget battle.
The 78-year-old president-elect denounced the spending bill as “ridiculous and extremely expensive.”
The dramatic development puts the country on the verge of a government shutdown just days before Christmas.
Musk was delighted when the bill was defeated. “People’s voices were heard,” he said. “This is a great day for America.”
He then reposted a photo of himself standing in front of an American flag with the words “VOX POPULI” and “VOX DEI,” a Latin phrase that translates to “the voice of the people is the voice of God.”
After the intervention, congressional Republicans on Thursday proposed a new funding package that would satisfy Trump and Musk.
– Who is responsible? –
Democrats have described the tech billionaire as unstable and megalomaniacal and hope calling him “President Musk” will annoy Trump.
“Democrats and Republicans have spent months negotiating a bipartisan deal to fund our government,” Sen. Bernie Sanders said. “President Musk, the richest man on Earth, doesn’t like it. it.
“Will Republicans kiss the ring?” Sanders asked. “Billions must not be allowed to run our government.”
Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern said, “At least we know who’s responsible.”
“He is the president and Trump is now the vice president,” McGovern said.
David Axelrod, who served as chief strategist for Barack Obama’s White House campaign, said on CNN that Musk and Trump need to “Get together and decide who is president.”
Musk’s meteoric rise in politics is unprecedented. While wealthy patrons had exerted influence before, no unelected businessman had ever wielded such political power.
Musk played a major role in the final stages of Trump’s presidential campaign, appearing with him at a rally in Pennsylvania where a gunman wounded the Republican candidate and personally funding a reelection committee.
He has been a ubiquitous presence since Trump won the election, virtually residing at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida, where the incoming president is planning the transition of power.
Musk and space race rival Amazon boss Jeff Bezos dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday night.
Musk has not yet been formally appointed to Trump’s Cabinet, but his extensive briefings on cutting federal spending have raised conflict of interest concerns.
SpaceX, for example, relies heavily on U.S. government contracts.
Musk’s $270 million in political donations during the November election cycle made him the largest political donor in U.S. history.
But he put more money into Twitter (later renamed X) in 2022, paying $44 billion.
Conservative commentator George Conway joked: “It’s weird that Elon Musk ends up paying far less for the U.S. government than he does for Twitter.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)