The federal government is on the verge of a shutdown — and practically at the behest of Elon Musk.
Republican and Democrat representatives had negotiated a stopgap spending bill, proposed by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), that would fund the government for the next three months, as well as providing over $100 billion in disaster relief and other urgent provisions.
But with a Friday deadline looming, the bill, known as a continuing resolution, is now practically dead on arrival. On Wednesday, president-elect Donald Trump commanded Republicans to kill support for the bill, blowing up the fragile bipartisan agreement.
Someone had been whispering in Trump’s ear, though: Musk, a man who’s recently made it his life’s mission to gut government bureaucracy and slash federal expenditures. A full twelve hours before Trump weighed in, Musk began posting non-stop on his website X, formerly Twitter, disparaging the bill — and calling for the heads of any Republicans that supported it.
“This bill should not pass,” he posted at 4:15 am on Wednesday to his over 200 million followers. By the end of the day, he had posted over 100 times, leveraging his enormous popularity to put pressure against the bill.
“Stop the steal of your tax dollars!” Musk posted that afternoon. “Call your elected representatives now. They are trying to railroad this thing through today!”
Shalt Not Pass
The episode is a testament to Musk’s outsized political influence, even though he doesn’t have a formal executive role in the incoming Trump administration.
“Our constituents, the people who elected us, are listening to Elon Musk,” Rep. Andy Barr (R-Kentucky), told The Wall Street Journal. “My phone was ringing off the hook today.”
It’s not an exaggeration to say that one very rich man’s all-day Twitter spree has helped determine the very functioning of government — namely, that it should barely function at all until lawmakers capitulate to his and Trump’s demands.
Musk’s threats of ousting any Republican that doesn’t toe the line aren’t to be taken lightly, either. If he was willing to spend $200 million to elect Trump, he could certainly afford to spend smaller sums to replace pesky representatives with more servile challengers.
And if Musk further has it his way, he’d keep the government shut down for an entire month.
“No bills should be passed Congress until Jan 20, when [Donald Trump] takes office,” he posted during his X-spree. “None. Zero.”
DOGEs of War
Yet this is just a preview of what Musk will be able to carry out now that he’s in Trump’s inner circle.
Musk will co-chair the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, with fellow billionaire and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, which will be an advisory body — not a position in Trump’s cabinet.
Still, if Musk’s online tirades are anything to go by, it’s apparent that DOGE’s real power will reside in essentially being a propaganda arm for the administration, bolstered with the legitimacy of sounding like it’s a real department.
He’s already hailing the moribund state of the bill as a major victory.
“Your elected representatives have heard you and now the terrible bill is dead,” Musk tweeted. “The voice of the people has triumphed! VOX POPULI VOX DEI.”
Last modified: December 20, 2024
