President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday rejected the concept of Elon Musk controlling the Republican Party after Musk helped kill a government spending bill last week, prompting Democrats and Trump critics to attack Trump calling the world’s richest user “President Musk. “
Trump appeared to make light of that complaint in a speech at a convention organized by the conservative organization Turning Point Action, saying “he’s not going to be president, I can tell you that,” before announcing that his presidency is “safe. ” “because Musk can do it. I am not president since he was born in South Africa.
In a series of more than 100 posts on his X platform Wednesday—just two days before the government was set to shut down—Musk derided a 1,500-page spending bill endorsed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., as too lengthy and too expensive.
Later that day, Trump also spoke out against the legislation, preventing it from reaching the floor for a House vote; Lawmakers approved a reworked proposal on Friday, hours before the government was set to shut down, which was later signed into law.
The debacle prompted comments about the unelected Musk’s alleged undue influence on the Republican Party, with Fox News’ Peter Doocy pointing to Musk as “the center of the universe on Capitol Hill,” and Fox News’ Sean Hannity calling Musk “the new sheriff of town. “. ” while the Democrats mask the de facto president.
Musk, who was the biggest donor in the 2024 election, has appeared to be with Trump since the election, dining with high-profile figures at Mar-a-Lago and sitting next to the president-elect at a recent UFC event. .
Trump’s team rejected the mockery in a statement that his spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, released to several media outlets last week, insisting that “President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Period,” while Elon Musk also downplayed importance to the statements about the vice president. choose JD Vance.
We estimate Musk’s net income to be $430. 9 billion, making him by far the richest user in the world. He is more than $190 billion ahead of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who is in second position with an estimated net worth of $235. 8 billion, for the title.
Musk and Trump have become closely aligned since the tail end of Trump’s campaign and after the billionaire spent more than $250 million before the election to elect Trump. Trump has also appointed Musk, alongside Vivek Ramaswamy, to lead a newly created Department of Government Efficiency aimed at tamping down on government waste.
Musk spread many lies about the spending bill in voicing his objections to the deal. He said the plan called for a 40% pay raise for lawmakers, well above the automatic 3. 8% raise he was actually asking for. Musk also said that The bill included investment for a new stadium for the Washington Commanders NFL team, an obvious reference to a provision to move land at the RFK Stadium site from the federal government to the District of Columbia to clear the way for the imaginable structure of a new stadium that would allow the team to move from its Maryland suburbs to Washington. D. C.
The law does not come with the rising debt ceiling first demanded by Trump, but instead suspends the debt ceiling for two years while keeping the government operational until March 14.
Biden symptoms of investment bill at government shutdown (Forbes)
Musk Says Congressional Bill To Avert Government Shutdown ‘Should Not Pass’ (Forbes)
Trump says he opposes Johnson’s government investment bill, tells Republicans to ‘get tough’ (Forbes)
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