Senate Democrats labeled billionaire Elon Musk a “co-president” and “shadow speaker” as they reacted to the implosion of the original stopgap spending deal on Wednesday, following his and President-elect Donald Trump’s opposition to the bill.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., commented that Musk “seems to be the guy in charge of the country now,” pointing to his apparent influence over the bill’s failure, despite it being negotiated by bipartisan congressional leaders.
“If a funding measure isn’t passed by Congress and signed by President Biden by midnight on Saturday morning, a partial government shutdown will take effect,” she noted.
As of Thursday, the U.S. national debt stood at $36.167 trillion and continues to grow at a rapid pace.
Musk came under fire after he criticized a 1,547-page short-term spending bill introduced earlier this week. On X (formerly Twitter), he highlighted what he deemed excessive length, cost, and irrelevant provisions. Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance soon joined the critique, issuing a statement opposing the measure.
This triggered backlash from Senate Democrats, who expressed frustration over Musk’s apparent sway with Trump and Republicans in Congress.
“He’s the one who seems to be calling the shots,” Warren told reporters. “Elon Musk is evidently in charge of the Republican Party and has blown that deal up. I don’t know how the Republicans plan to recover from that.”
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., referred to Musk as “already the shadow speaker of the House,” indirectly taking aim at House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
“I think he’s unelected, and he’s created a whole lot of damage,” added Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga. He argued that Republicans in Congress were more focused on “listening to Co-President Musk and Co-President Trump” than addressing the concerns of Americans.
Warnock emphasized that his priority was Georgia’s struggling farmers and securing disaster relief: “We need to make sure that we get that over the finish line.”
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., also voiced disapproval. “He doesn’t have any official government job,” Kelly said. “We had a deal with Republicans in the House, and now, because of him, the president-elect is on the verge of people losing their jobs and not getting paid over the holidays.”
Republicans pushed back on the idea that Trump was overly influenced by Musk. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., remarked, “There are lots of people around President Trump. I don’t think Musk has control over what the president-elect does.”
Musk was recently tapped by Trump, alongside former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, to co-lead a proposed advisory board called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), aimed at identifying and eliminating government waste.
