Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, on Sunday in contrast tech mogul Elon Musk to a “prime minister,” praising Musk for speaking out in opposition to an early model of a stopgap funding invoice final week.
“It’s sort of fascinating,” Gonzales stated throughout an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.” “We have a president, we’ve a vice chairman, we’ve a speaker. It looks like as if Elon Musk is our prime minister.”
Gonzales added that he spoke with Musk “a few instances” throughout a chaotic week for House Republicans as GOP management scrambled to tug collectively a package deal to fund the federal government that may garner help from a majority of the House GOP caucus.
Gonzales voted in opposition to the ultimate model of a unbroken decision that handed the House late Friday night time and was later signed Saturday by President Joe Biden. The package deal funds the federal government at present ranges by March 14 and features a one-year farm invoice and $100 billion in catastrophe support.
Gonzales continued to reward Musk’s affect on the funding course of, at the same time as moderator Margaret Brennan identified that Musk has not been elected to any formal place within the U.S. authorities.
“Well, unelected, however, I imply, he has a voice, and I believe a whole lot of —giant a part of that voice is a mirrored image of the voice of the individuals,” Gonzales stated.
Musk was one in all President-elect Donald Trump’s greatest supporters forward of the November presidential election, spending a quarter of a billion dollars on outdoors efforts to spice up his marketing campaign.
Last week, Musk was outspoken in opposition to a authorities funding deal negotiated by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., days earlier than a Dec. 20 deadline to avert a authorities shutdown.
Musk referred to as the invoice “one of the worst bills ever written,” wrote “this bill should NOT pass” and referred to as for Republicans to shut down the government as an alternative of voting for the persevering with decision.
In a span of two days, he voiced his opposition to the invoice more than 100 times on X, the social media platform he owns.
Shortly after Musk began talking out in opposition to the invoice, Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance released their own statement in opposition to the invoice, tanking already wavering help for the invoice amongst congressional Republicans.
And days later, when GOP congressional leaders launched the textual content of a brand new persevering with decision one-tenth the dimensions of the primary invoice, Musk praised the size of the second bill in a submit that Gonzales himself reshared.
At a Turning Point USA occasion in Arizona, Trump downplayed concerns that Musk is usurping management from the president-elect.
“No, he’s not going to be president, that I can inform you,” Trump stated.
“And I’m secure. You know why he can’t be? He wasn’t born on this nation,” Trump added about Musk, who was born in South Africa.
