Special Poll
President-elect Trump’s transition team recently responded to Democratic claims that Elon Musk is the “true leader” of the Republican Party following his intense lobbying against a temporary funding measure. Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump-Vance transition team, made it clear, stating to media, “As soon as President Trump announced his position on the continuing resolution, Republicans on Capitol Hill aligned with his views. President Trump is definitively the leader of the Republican Party.”
Musk, a prominent supporter of Trump, launched a series of social media attacks on Wednesday criticizing the bipartisan spending bill unveiled on Tuesday night—just days before the government shutdown deadline on December 20. Musk, who co-chairs Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” advisory panel tasked with cutting government expenditure, called for Congress to reject the 1500-page bill, labeling it as laden with unnecessary spending.
He went as far as to suggest that any legislator supporting the continuing resolution should be removed from office and proposed halting all legislative activity until Trump assumes office on January 20. His remarks online, shared extensively with DOGE co-leader Vivek Ramaswamy, preceded public disapproval from Trump and Vice-President-elect Vance.
The pushback from Trump and his advisers led to the quick unraveling of the bill. Several Democrats pointed to Musk’s persistent online critiques as a key reason for the disruption, even dubbing him “President Elon Musk” in a jab at Trump’s command over his party.
The extent to which Musk and Ramaswamy’s online activities influenced the public stance of Trump and Vance, and whether they were in direct communication with the president-elect during this period, remains uncertain.
On Capitol Hill, some Republican members believe Musk’s influence is expanding, with reports from media indicating that at least one lawmaker felt Musk’s posts could have swayed the voting on the initial bill, which was intended to fund the government through March 14 and prevent the December 20 shutdown.
Now, House Republicans are considering an alternative funding plan that excludes a debt ceiling increase and proposes setting up a committee to address the borrowing limit twice the following year, aiming to satisfy Trump’s demands.
This new proposal is still under discussion and could be modified. It aims to closely resemble Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La) previous strategy, albeit stripped of some policy elements, according to two sources who spoke with media on Thursday.