Oligarch in Chief: Elon Musk Scuttles Spending Bill
Despite nobody voting for him, the world’s richest man is pushing the country towards a government shut down

With Trump on his way into the White House next month and a mess of horrid cabinet picks potentially following him, nobody should expect a decent government for the next four years.1 Unfortunately, the chaos has already begun, thanks in part to the richest man on Earth, Elon Musk, using his influence on Twitter to scuttle a bipartisan spending bill to keep the government running.2 If this is how the Republicans are going to conduct themselves, then Americans will be forced to endure an unelected oligarch pulling the strings of an already corrupt President-Elect and his shallow political party.
The Spending Bill and Musk’s Misinformation
While President-elect Trump has struggled throughout the last month to organize his incoming administration, he has also hoped to ensure a smooth transition. Central to this was a spending bill which would fund the government past a Friday deadline. Representatives in the House spent weeks negotiating the bill, hoping to keep the government running into Christmas and beyond for the sake of a stable government. However, as the bill was seemingly going to pass, Mr. Musk found the bill to be unacceptable to the central mission of his co-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), posting more than 150 posts on his social media site, lampooning the bill. 3
It is worth noting that Mr. Musk is not a member of the House or Senate. Nor is his “department” authorized by Congress. It is also worth noting that Mr. Musk seemingly had no problem spreading outright lies, and misinformation. For one, the bill doesn’t provide for a 40 percent increase in Congressmembers’ salaries. The actual number was 3.8 percent. 4 Mr. Musk, as The New York Times notes, misunderstood a Punchbowl News article about Congressmembers’ pay. Rather than this bill raising their wages by 40 percent, Punchbowl was attempting to explain that Congress’ pay hadn’t kept up with the price of living since their last pay increase in 2009.
As Punchbowl News’ John Bresnahan and Melanie Zanona explained:
“Now, a lot of lawmakers have been pushing for a pay raise for years, arguing the longstanding freeze has discouraged people from running for office. Congress did create a program in 2022 allowing members to get reimbursed for lodging and meal expenses while conducting official business in D.C.
As we noted, there hasn’t been a pay increase since 2009. The annual salary for members is $174,000. That is a lot of money to average Americans — or anyone — but it’s expensive to serve in Congress too.
There’s also the argument that if members and senators don’t get paid fairly, then only rich people will run for Congress.
Here’s a good CRS report on this long-running issue. It notes that if members of Congress were getting raises also this time, their 2024 salary would be $243,300.” 5
This misinformation by Musk was part of a litany of falsehoods that the tech and social media mogul used to sink this bill. Musk claimed, among other things, that the bill would make bioweapons labs, as well as provide $3 billion to a stadium in Washington. None of those things are true, and the screenshot that musk shows in his quote tweet clearly show that the labs in questions are biocontainment and research facilities intended to prevent infectious diseases from threatening the public. You would think a self-styled genius would figure that out, but frustratingly, but apparently you would be wrong.6 7
All of these claims, along with the frenzy that Musk put into spreading, along with the primary threats directed at Republicans, eventually sunk the bill and put the incoming Trump administration on its back foot. By Wednesday’s end, Trump had no choice but to come out against the bill, seemingly reacting to Musk’s whims.
What Does This Mean?
While the hasty and flawed attacks on the bill by Musk were frustrating, they also are a threat to the effective management of the federal government. As it stands right now, government spending is set to expire on Friday at midnight, and another Trump backed bill has failed to reach the necessary support needed, with 38 Republicans voting against the bill.8
House Members such as Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) have protested against what they see as excessive spending and a failure to address the debt. In a statement responding to the bill, Rep. Roy wrote:
“Old bill: $110BB in deficit spending (unpaid for), $0 increase in the national credit card. New bill: $110BB in deficit spending (unpaid for), $4 TRILLION+ debt ceiling increase with $0 in structural reforms for cuts. Time to read the bill: 1.5 hours. I will vote no.” 9
In response, Trump posted to Truth Social:
“Chip Roy is just another ambitious guy, with no talent,” he wrote. “I hope some talented challengers are getting ready in the Great State of Texas to go after Chip in the Primary. He won’t have a chance!”10
The disunion among Republicans, which was initiated by Musk’s interference, risks a rocky start to an already rocky transition. More than that, however, critical services such as food stamps, inspections of food, drinking water and hazardous waste could all be delayed or outright stopped until funding is secured. 11
Regardless of where you stand on government spending, the reality is that an unelected billionaire with no authorization to force his agenda in the halls of Congress shouldn’t be deciding or otherwise undermining federal services that make everyday Americans’ lives safer and better. Republicans will hold the House and Senate come January, giving them plenty of time to enact their austerity agenda leading into the next midterm election. Right now, however, Americans are depending upon their government to function leading into Christmas and the New Year. No amount of arbitrary concerns by a spoiled billionaire can change that.
If Trump and his allies want Americans to believe that they can govern effectively, then it is up to them to prove it. If they expect the respect of the people, they can start by casting aside Elon and show Americans that the incoming administration isn’t beholden to a wannabe revolutionary.
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Conor Kelly, “The Trump Administration Betrays Women with Its Cabinet Picks – The Progressive American,” The Progressive American (blog), November 20, 2024, https://theprogressiveamerican.com/2024/11/20/the-trump-administration-betrays-women-with-its-cabinet-picks/.
Michael D. Shear and Ryan Mac, “Elon Musk Flexes His Political Strength as Government Shutdown Looms,” The New York Times, December 19, 2024, sec. U.S., https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/19/us/politics/elon-musk-politics.html.
Michael D. Shear and Ryan Mac, “Elon Musk Flexes His Political Strength as Government Shutdown Looms,” The New York Times, December 19, 2024.
Linda Qiu, “Assessing Elon Musk’s Criticisms of the Government Spending Deal,” The New York Times, December 19, 2024, sec. U.S., https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/19/us/politics/elon-musk-spending-bill-fact-check.html.
John Bresnahan and Melanie Zanona, “What’s in the CR for Members — a Pay Raise, plus an Obamacare Opt-Out,” Punchbowl News, December 18, 2024, https://punchbowl.news/article/washington/lawmaker-pay-raise-obamacare-opt-out-in-cr/.
Elon Musk [@elonmusk], “We’re Funding Bioweapon Labs in This Bill!,” Tweet, Twitter, December 18, 2024, https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1869459369559224802.
Linda Qiu, “Assessing Elon Musk’s Criticisms of the Government Spending Deal,” The New York Times, December 19, 2024.
Bo Erickson et al., “Trump-Backed Spending Deal Fails in House, Shutdown Approaches,” Reuters, December 20, 2024, sec. United States, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-congress-has-two-days-avert-shutdown-after-trump-rejects-spending-bill-2024-12-19/.
Chip Roy [@chiproytx], “Old Bill: $110BB in Deficit Spending (Unpaid for), $0 Increase in the National Credit Card. New Bill: $110BB in Deficit Spending (Unpaid for), $4 TRILLION+ Debt Ceiling Increase with $0 in Structural Reforms for Cuts. Time to Read the Bill: 1.5 Hours. I Will Vote No.,” Tweet, Twitter, December 19, 2024, https://x.com/chiproytx/status/1869863674355302836.
James Osborne, “Trump Calls for Texas Congressman Chip Roy to Be Primaried amid Government Shutdown Talks,” Houston Chronicle, December 19, 2024, sec. news, https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/trump-calls-for-texas-congressman-chip-roy-to-be-primaried-amid-government-shutdown-talks/ar-AA1wbsvV?ocid=BingNewsSerp.
Linda Qiu, “Assessing Elon Musk’s Criticisms of the Government Spending Deal,” The New York Times, December 19, 2024.