Donald Trump’s team pushed back on suggestions that Elon Musk is calling the shots in the Republican Party after the right-wing billionaire’s staunch opposition to a spending bill led to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) pulling the measure.
“As soon as President Trump released his official stance on the CR [continuing resolution], Republicans on Capitol Hill echoed his point of view. President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Full stop,” Karoline Leavitt, transition spokesperson for the Trump-Vance team, said in a statement.
Musk, the co-chair of Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), spent Wednesday railing against the spending bill in a series of post on X, some promoting lies, and even threatened to primary any Republican lawmaker who support the bill.
Hours later Trump and Vice-President-elect JD Vance released a joint statement agreeing with Musk that Republicans should kill the bill or risk facing a primary challenge.
A House Republican described the plan as “collapsing” in the wake of Musk’s posts, driving a surge of calls to member’s offices, according to CNN.
Amid the chaos, several Democratic lawmakers argued that “President Elon Musk” is pulling the strings and Trump isn’t in control of his party.
