‘Co-president’ Elon Musk? True power of Trump’s ally in the spotlight

Washington: Elon Musk has never been elected to office. President-elect Donald Trump has not tapped him to serve in any role inside the government. Until the July assassination attempt, he never even publicly supported Trump.

But this week, critics of the world’s richest man say he attained a new title: “shadow president” of the United States.

President-elect Donald Trump, from left, Trump’s pick for the planned Department of Government Efficiency Elon Musk and Vice President-elect JD Vance attend the NCAA college football game between Army and Navy.Credit: AP

In a matter of hours on Wednesday, Musk wielded his powerful X account to pressure House Republicans to torpedo a spending bill that would have kept the federal government open for three months. Musk’s rapid-fire messages - which included numerous false claims about the contents of the spending bill - ricocheted through Washington, where some legislators reported their phone lines were ringing all day with calls from constituents who saw the posts.

More than 12 hours after Musk’s first post on the subject, Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance also put out a statement opposing the legislation, and House Republicans scrapped the deal.

Musk kept posting throughout the day on Thursday, as House Republicans scrambled to come up with an alternative. Ultimately, House Republicans appended a two-year debt ceiling hike - a key demand of Trump’s - to a slimmed-down version of the original bill that Musk had decried as “one of the worst bills ever written”, though the cost difference between the two was marginal.

But the second Trump-backed measure went down to a broad and swift defeat in the House on Thursday evening, raising the chances of a shutdown beginning at 12.01am Saturday (4.01pm Sunday AEDT).

Musk’s outsize role in sending the federal government careening toward a potential shutdown before Christmas has alarmed Democrats, academics and watchdog groups, while some Republicans said his intervention was uninformed.

The tech billionaire’s swift accumulation of political power has sparked criticism that the incoming Trump administration will function like an oligarchy, with Musk pushing for policies that will further enrich him and his companies. Trump has named Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy as co-chairs of an outside group dubbed the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), which will advocate for vast cuts to federal spending.

The outrage reverberated on X, which Musk owns and where “President Musk” became a trending topic. Democratic Representative Zoe Lofgren posted an AI-generated image that depicted Musk operating a Trump puppet. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy posted that the move was a signal of what was to come with Trump’s “Billionaire First” agenda. And Representative Maxwell Frost, a Democrat from Florida, wrote that “an unelected billionaire was crowned co-president by the Republican Party”.

The Republican Party has “given him so much influence over every decision they make”, Frost told The Washington Post. “Either they’re scared or they’ve bowed down and pledged allegiance to the richest man on Earth.”

Musk did not respond to a request for comment.

Republicans insisted that Trump was driving the push, with Musk and Ramaswamy using their social media reach to amplify his opposition to the original spending bill. Some cautioned that the prospects for the original deal were already dimming amid concerns that Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson had acquiesced to too many demands from Democrats, veering from his promise to avoid the pursuit of a “Christmas tree” bill - a term referring to a bill that attracts a slew of last-ditch, unrelated legislation.

Several people also said that Trump had communicated to Johnson earlier in the northern autumn that he wanted to get rid of the debt ceiling - a demand that has been absent from the government funding deliberations but which Trump revived this week.

“I think President Trump is calling the shots,” said Louisiana Republican Senator John Neely Kennedy, when asked about Musk’s influence. Kennedy said he was not minimising Musk’s posts, but said that it was Trump who ultimately killed the first bill. He added it was obvious the legislation was “trouble on a stick” once he realised it included a provision that would allow for pay rises for legislators.

Elon Musk and Donald Trump attend a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show in October.Credit: AP

The episode underscored the unprecedented role that Musk has played in shaping Trump’s administration. He’s weighed in on Cabinet picks, joined meetings with heads of state and is now acting as an enforcer of Trump’s political agenda on Capitol Hill.

Musk’s wealth, online following and political power have exploded since Trump’s November victory, after he emerged as the country’s largest political donor, throwing $US277 million ($443.9 million) into backing Trump and other Republicans. Many watchdog groups have raised concerns that Musk could abuse his access to Trump and his role in shaping the Republican agenda at a time when he is the target of multiple government investigations and party to many lucrative government contracts.

Musk has conflicts of interest because of his businesses’ dependency on the government, said Martin Gilens, a professor of public policy at UCLA who has studied economic inequality in political influence.

“It’s kind of a perfect storm, in the sense that he’s unelected and in a seemingly very influential position, so that’s problematic to begin with,” Gilens said.

Trump and his transition team pushed back against claims that Musk was solely responsible for tanking the spending plan. Trump told NBC News that he had discussed his position on the spending bill with Musk before the Tesla CEO’s posts.

“I told him that if he agrees with me, that he could put out a statement,” Trump told NBC. “He’s looking at things from a cost standpoint.”

Trump described the two men’s views as in line and “very much on track”.

“As soon as President Trump released his official stance on the [government funding deal], Republicans on Capitol Hill echoed his point of view,” said Trump transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt. “President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Full stop.”

Musk’s online tirade against the legislation was reminiscent of Trump’s style of governing in 140 characters or less during his first administration.

Musk posted multiple inaccurate claims about the spending bill, writing that the legislation would give members of Congress a 40 per cent raise. The maximum possible raise in 2025 under the legislation would have been 3.8 per cent. Some of Musk’s inaccuracies even drew feedback from members of the Republican Party.

“I love you Elon but you need to take 5 seconds to check your sources before highlighting bottom feeders looking for clicks,” posted Representative Dan Crenshaw, a Republican from Texas, after Musk responded to a video that claimed Crenshaw was spearheading the effort to raise legislators’ salaries.

Musk also amplified a false assertion that the bill included billions for a new stadium in Washington DC. The legislation would have permitted the District of Columbia to redevelop RFK Stadium and possibly bring the Washington Commanders gridiron team back to their former home, but no costs were attached to the provision. It was dropped from the compromise version released on Thursday.

Musk also threatened members of Congress who supported the spending bill, writing they should be voted out in two years. Amid criticism that he had overstepped and bought political influence, Musk claimed he was enforcing the will of the American people.

Elon Musk spoke to the crowd at a campaign rally for Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden before the election.Credit: AP

“The voice of the people was heard,” he wrote after the bill was abandoned. “This was a good day for America.”

Some Republican senators on Thursday embraced Musk’s influence over the legislative body, portraying him as just an ordinary citizen exercising his right to be heard.

“He’s a member of the public that has a voice, and I think what’s happened is he’s doing what Americans are doing, he’s showing up and learning the process and getting involved,” said Republican Senator Rick Scott. “And I think it’s great what he’s doing.”

When asked whether Musk or Trump killed the spending deal, Tommy Tuberville, the Republican Senator from Alabama, said: “I think it’s a little of both.”

Marjorie Taylor Greene is open to the idea of giving Elon Musk more power in Washington.Credit: AP

Other Republicans appeared eager to give Musk even more power in Washington. Republican Senator Rand Paul noted on X that the speaker of the House does not need to be a member of Congress. Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene responded that she would be open to supporting Musk to lead the House.

“Nothing would disrupt the swamp more than electing Elon Musk … think about it … nothing’s impossible,” Paul responded. He then appeared to back off that endorsement, saying when asked by a reporter if he was serious that he would leave his comment “open to interpretation”.

“Elon Musk is having an impact, and I think a good impact, in the sense that spending is out of control,” Paul said.

During an exchange with a correspondent for US broadcaster ABC News, Trump asked Musk if he wanted to be House speaker. “Should I be?” replied the tech billionaire. “No, we’re very happy with Mike [Johnson],” Trump said. “[Elon] is too busy sending rockets to the moon.”

Michael Lawler, the Republican representative from New York, said that Musk would inevitably be focused on spending as part of his work on DOGE, and he didn’t think there were any issues with more transparency “as long as it’s accurate”.

“I don’t think there’s any problem with raising concerns about the strategy or the plan or the components of a bill,” he said. “But I think the key that everybody has to realise from the White House on down is, given our margins [in the House and Senate], we have to work as a team.”

Meanwhile, angry Democrats expressed concerns that the chaos on the Hill this week was just a preview of what is to come under the Trump administration, when his party will control both chambers of Congress.

“Well you have a billionaire who is what, is he running the country? So now we have two people that we have to contend with,” said Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono. “It’s just alarming if this is how decisions are going to be made.”

The Washington Post