Elon Musk’s role in thwarting a bipartisan congressional agreement to prevent a US government shutdown has underlined his extraordinary influence over the Republican Party and the incoming administration of Donald Trump.
In addition to his usual title of the world’s richest man, Democrats are now describing him as “President Musk.”
Trump has chosen Musk to run the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) agency, but the billionaire is already throwing his weight behind the wheel before the president-elect takes office on January 20.
On Wednesday, shortly after 4:00 a.m., the hyperactive owner of Tesla and SpaceX used his social platform X to attack the budget bill introduced by Republicans and Democrats in Congress to keep the federal government running.
“This bill should not pass,” Musk, 53, wrote in the first of a flurry of posts.
He encouraged Republican members of the House of Representatives to, “Kill the bill.” “This bill is criminal.”
Many Republican lawmakers immediately agreed, some even indulging in a little flattery.
Representative Dan Bishop commented on one of Musk’s posts, “In five years in Congress, I look forward to a fundamental change in the dynamics.” “it has arrived.”
Other right-wing members of Congress even suggested that South African-born Musk should take over as House speaker.
Trump himself later became involved in the budget fight.
The 78-year-old president-elect slammed the spending bill, calling it “ridiculous and extravagantly expensive.”
The dramatic developments led to a government shutdown just days before Christmas.
Musk rejoiced after the bill was torpedoed. “The people’s voices were heard,” he said. “It was a good day for America.”
He then reposted a photo of himself 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 intervention, Republicans in Congress came up with a new funding package on Thursday that satisfied Trump – and Musk.
– who is in charge? ,
Democrats have portrayed the tech billionaire as unstable and megalomaniacal, and hope calling him “President Musk” will embarrass Trump.
Senator Bernie Sanders said, “Democrats and Republicans spent months negotiating a bipartisan deal to fund our government.” “The richest man on Earth, President Elon Musk, doesn’t like it.
“Will Republicans kiss the ring?”. Sanders asked. “Billionaires should not be allowed to run our government.”
Democratic Representative Jim McGovern said, “At least we know who’s in charge.”
“He’s the president and Trump is now the vice president,” McGovern said.
Speaking on CNN, David Axelrod, who served as chief strategist for Barack Obama’s White House campaigns, said Musk and Trump “need to come together and decide who is president.”
Musk’s rapid political rise is unprecedented. While wealthy patrons have wielded influence before, no unelected businessman has ever wielded such political power.
Musk played a large role in the closing stages of Trump’s presidential campaign, appearing with him at a rally in Pennsylvania at the site where a gunman wounded the Republican nominee, and personally funding a re-election committee. Nurtured.
He has been omnipresent since Trump’s election victory, virtually taking up residence at Trump’s home in Mar-a-Lago Florida, where the incoming president is planning the transition.
Musk and Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, who are space race rivals, dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Wednesday evening.
Musk has not been formally named to Trump’s Cabinet, but his detailed description of federal government spending cuts has sparked concerns of conflict of interest.
For example, SpaceX relies for a large part on US government contracts.
Musk’s $270 million political donation during the November election cycle made him the largest political donor in US history.
But they paid far more, paying $44 billion for Twitter (since rebranded as X) in 2022.
George Conway, a conservative critic, joked, “It’s strange to think that Elon Musk would have to pay much less to the United States government than Twitter does.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
