What’s New
A number of Democrat lawmakers are referring to billionaire businessman Elon Musk as “President Musk” after a Republican-backed government funding bill collapsed, possibly sending the government into shutdown over the holidays.
President-elect Donald Trump threw his support behind a revised government funding plan from House Speaker Mike Johnson on Thursday after coming out against a previous version of the bill on Wednesday. The Trump-endorsed replacement bill proposed linking government funding to a two-year suspension of the federal debt ceiling, which dictates how much the government can borrow to meet its financial obligations. It would have kept the government funded until March.
But the revised stopgap legislation failed to pass in Congress on Thursday night. Thirty-eight Republicans bucked Trump and Johnson and voted against the bill, while Democrats also voted against it.
Republican rebels objected as they oppose increases in government spending, while Democrats voted against it because they said the extra borrowing would be used to give tax cuts to the wealthy.
Meanwhile, Tesla and X (formerly Twitter) chief Musk has been leading the charge against the funding deal, demanding Republicans not back it.
″’Shutting down’ the government (which doesn’t actually shut down critical functions btw) is infinitely better than passing a horrible bill,” Musk wrote in one of many X posts railing against the continuing resolution.
This has lead Democrats, and some Republicans, to ponder whether Musk is the real leader of the Republican party, not Trump.
Newsweek has contacted Trump’s transition team for comment via email.
Why It Matters
The influence that Musk has had over the spending bill process highlights the significant role that he, an unelected official, may play in Trump’s administration as the head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He has already pledged to make $2 trillion in cuts to the federal budget.
Musk is the world’s richest man and the owner of Tesla, X, and SpaceX.
It also shows the dilemma Trump may face between securing funding for his new agenda—which includes a mass deportation plan and tax cuts—and appealing to his MAGA base by slashing budgets in favor of small government.
What To Know
The furor over avoiding a government shutdown has fueled GOP calls to oust Johnson from the speakership and replace him with Musk.
“The Speaker of the House need not be a member of Congress . . . Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk,” Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky wrote on X on Thursday. “Think about it . . . nothing’s impossible (not to mention the joy at seeing the collective establishment, aka ‘uniparty,’ lose their ever-lovin’ minds).”
GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia also said on X: “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. This could be the way.”
Senator Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, said on The Benny Show that new congressional leadership is needed. He encouraged House lawmakers to “go outside of the box,” suggesting Musk or entrepreneur-turned-politician Vivek Ramaswamy for the Speaker role. Ramaswamy was asked by Trump to co-lead DOGE with Musk.
“That would revolutionize everything,” Lee said.
But Trump seemed less eager to support Musk for one of the top jobs in Congress.
“We’re very happy with Mike. [Elon] is too busy sending rockets to the moon,” Trump told ABC News, adding: “I think Mike is doing a good job. If Mike proves to be as tough as he is, he has a great chance.”
When Musk was asked if he wanted to be speaker, he told the broadcaster with a laugh: “Should I be?”
The United States Constitution does not lay out any provisions suggesting that the House speaker must be a member of Congress. While the position has always been given to a House member, the lack of strict criteria essentially means that anyone who meets the requirements for the office may be considered for nomination.
The House will vote on a speaker for the new Congress in January.
What People Are Saying
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren told CNN: “The Republicans can’t come together because they can’t stick to the deal they originally negotiated, and this is on them. And it really is the reminder who now runs the Republican Party, and it’s Musk. He is the one who started tweeting at 4:30 this morning about what a bad deal this was and how terrible it was.”
Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin told C-SPAN: “We had many weeks of negotiation with the Republicans. We arrived at a bipartisan legislative compromise. The Senate Democrats, the Senate Republicans, the House Democrats, the House Republicans. Everybody agreed. And then it was blown up by Elon Musk, who apparently has become the fourth branch of government. And that’s just an intolerable way of proceeding under representative democracy. So the Democrats are gonna try to figure out how we can salvage the public good out of the wreckage that has just been foist upon us.
“Who is our leader [House Minority Leader] Hakeem Jeffries supposed to negotiate with? Is it Mike Johnson? Is he the speaker of the House? Or is it Donald Trump? Or is it Elon Musk? Or is it somebody else?”
Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont said on X: “The US Congress this week came to an agreement to fund our government. Elon Musk, who became $200 BILLION richer since Trump was elected, objected. Are Republicans beholden to the American people? Or President Musk?
“This is oligarchy at work.”
Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal said on X: “It’s clear who’s in charge, and it’s not President-elect Donald Trump.
“Shadow President Elon Musk spent all day railing against Republicans’ CR, succeeded in killing the bill, and then Trump decided to follow his lead.”
Democratic Rep. Kevin Goldman told MSNBC: “It’s not Donald Trump asking for this. It’s very clearly President Elon Musk asking for this. The fact that Donald Trump has been completely AWOL during these negotiations, to the point where only after Elon Musk publicly tweets out his displeasure about this budget deal. All of a sudden, Donald Trump, chief of staff to Elon Musk, comes trotting in and blows up the deal. And let’s be very clear, this means that what Elon Musk and Donald Trump are doing is likely, at this point, to shut the government down over Christmas.”
“As the shadow Pres-Elect, Elon Musk is now calling the shots for House Rs on government funding while Trump hides in Mar-a-Lago behind his handlers,” Goldman wrote in a post on X. “It increasingly seems like we’re in for 4 years of an unelected oligarch running the country by pulling on his puppet’s strings.”
Trump’s spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said: “As soon as President Trump released his official stance on the CR, Republicans on Capitol Hill echoed his point of view. President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Full stop.”
What Happens Next
Congress now has about 18 hours to pass a stopgap measure before the government shuts down. Johnson was seen whipping Republican votes on the House floor shortly after Thursday’s proposal failed.
It’s unclear if Johnson will come back with a new proposal ahead of Friday’s deadline.
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