Elon Musk flexes his political muscle, sending government on path to shutdown
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During the Army-Navy football game over the weekend, Elon Musk posted a photo of the giant screen perched over the field showing four faces in focus. President-elect Donald Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance, and Musk looking toward the camera. In the background, looking down, was House Speaker Mike Johnson.
The symbolism of such an image - and Musk posting it - is hard to miss. Musk stands directly behind Trump and Vance, more prominently than the speaker (who is third in line to the presidency).
A few days later, Musk would make perhaps his most impactful flex of his newfound political power, helping to torpedo a spending bill put forth by Johnson with bipartisan support to fund the government and avoid a shutdown as soon as Friday evening.
While some conservatives were already sceptical of the continuing resolution even before it was officially published, Musk and his co-Department of Government Efficiency leader Vivek Ramaswamy suddenly began blasting the bill online Wednesday, riling up their tens of millions of supporters with posts stoking outrage about its contents.
Fog hovers over the dome of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on December 10, 2024.
Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
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"This bill should not pass," Musk wrote on X at 4:15 a.m. ET, kicking off what would become a blizzard of posts about the legislation. It was only a matter of time before the bill died.
But Musk's unprecedented online influence seemed to fully torpedo the spending bill in a way no Republican lawmaker could have done from inside Capitol Hill.
Those familiar with Washington know that such massive spending bills are often chock-full of add-ons in addition to necessary spending to keep the government open. Punchbowl called it "overstuffed," others have likened it to a "Christmas tree" full of ornaments. But Musk has always prided himself on doing things differently, ignoring the rules (written or not) and breaking the mold, for better or for worse. In more than 100 posts on X, Musk railed against elements of the bill, though some of his complaints were outright false and often amplifications of anonymous X accounts with seemingly no fact checks.
Musk also used his platform to push for a government shutdown, arguing it would not hurt "critical functions." While that is partially true, shutdowns cost the economy billions of dollars. And there are millions of federal employees who would not be paid while the government is shuttered during the holidays.
Since Musk began showing up by Trump's side, memes of a "President Musk" have been flourishing online, and furious Democrats are starting to question whether Musk is a "shadow president."
"It's clear who's in charge, and it's not President-elect Donald Trump," Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal wrote. "Shadow President Elon Musk spent all day railing against Republicans' CR, succeeded in killing the bill, and then Trump decided to follow his lead."
Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent, echoed her sentiment.
"Democrats and Republicans spent months negotiating a bipartisan agreement to fund our government. The richest man on Earth, President Elon Musk, doesn't like it."
Musk, the tech billionaire who has never been elected to office, has said it's not the Republicans who are giving him power, it's the "people."
"All I can do is bring things to the attention of the people, so they may voice their support if they so choose," Musk wrote on X on Wednesday.
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But now some Republicans are suggesting making Musk's power official, going beyond his self-proclaimed "first buddy" title.
"The Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress," Sen. Rand Paul wrote on X. "Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk … think about it . . . nothing's impossible. (not to mention the joy at seeing the collective establishment, aka ‘uniparty,' lose their ever-lovin' minds)."
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene joined in, writing she'd be "open to supporting" Musk as Speaker.
"DOGE can only truly be accomplished by reigning in Congress to enact real government efficiency. The establishment needs to be shattered just like it was yesterday," she wrote on X. "This could be the way."
There's no indication Musk is seriously suggesting becoming speaker of the House, considering his multiple businesses that require his attention. (Plus, taking on the role would take time away from his ultimate life goal: colonizing Mars.)
Musk's first real foray into affecting a major piece of legislation now seems to portend what is to come, a prospect that is either terrifying or exhilarating to those in Washington.
