Senator John Fetterman and billionaire Elon Musk shared pleasantries as the two were on Capitol Hill yesterday.
Journalist Brendan Scanland asked Fetterman if he sees himself “working with folks like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy,” who were tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The Pennsylvania Democrat said he admires Musk and that the Tesla CEO is not “an enemy.”
Musk later retweeted the video of Fetterman on X and said, “It’s hard not to like” the senator.
“I admire Mr. Musk,” Fetterman said. “He has been involved in very important parts of American society: AI, SpaceX and other kinds of things.”
NEW: Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) has kind words for Elon Musk, vows to work with him.
“I admire @ElonMusk. He has been involved in very important parts of American society.”
“Yes, he’s on a different team, but that doesn’t make me an enemy […] Hey – he has made our economy… pic.twitter.com/FDuzYb7us7
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 5, 2024
Newsweek reached out to the press teams for Fetterman and Musk via email for comment.
Musk has been an ever-growing presence in U.S. politics, with Trump’s granddaughter, Kai, even saying he had been promoted to “uncle status” during a family photo after the president-elect’s November 5 win.
The CEOs of SpaceX and Tesla reportedly joined the president-elect in a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Musk also spent Election Day at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home and is reported to have had a near-constant presence at the resort since the Republican‘s win against Vice President Kamala Harris.
Musk and Ramaswamy were at the Capitol on Thursday to speak with lawmakers—mostly Republicans, according to the Associated Press. They discussed budget-slashing proposals and other ways to cut programs and “Save America.”
“Yes, he’s on a different team, but that doesn’t make me an enemy. I don’t think I’m automatically going to become a critic,” Fetterman said of Musk. “He has made our economy and our nation better, and our politics are different, and I may not agree with some of the things he might say, but that doesn’t make him an enemy.”
Musk posted Friday night to X his admiration for Fetterman.
“Hard not to like @SenFettermanPA,” Musk said. “He puts country over party.”
Even still, not all lawmakers were buying Musk’s words. Early Friday morning, Republican Representative Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin called Musk’s comments “b*******.”
“It is hard to not like what @SenFettermanPA what he says, it is easy to hate how he really votes,” Van Orden posted. “Do not fall for this.”
Fetterman has been a lone Democratic in many cases voicing his support for Trump’s Cabinet nominations. The senator has been a vocal critic of the Democratic Party‘s election strategy and has supported picks like New York Representative Elise Stefanik for United Nations ambassador for her “strong and unapologetic pro-Israel position,” as well as the “strong choice” of Florida Senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state.
Most recently, on November 19, Fetterman even gave niceties to his former opponent in the Pennsylvania Senate race, Dr. Mehmet Oz, who Trump nominated to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“If Dr. Oz is about protecting and preserving Medicare and Medicaid, I’m voting for the dude,” Fetterman posted.
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