Washington — Republican Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas compared Elon Musk to an unelected prime minister after the Tesla CEO got involved in a tumultuous funding fight on Capitol Hill this week that prompted concern over a possible government shutdown — and previewed dynamics under a GOP-controlled Washington.
“We have a president, we have a vice president, we have a speaker. It feels as if Elon Musk is our prime minister,” Gonzales said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
After days of uncertainty, Congress approved a measure to keep the government funded until mid March, which President Biden signed Saturday to avert a shutdown. But the resolution came after multiple dashed attempts to fund the government, including a bipartisan deal scuttled following intense pushback from Musk, who President-elect Donald Trump has selected to lead a new agency called the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE. After’s Musk’s criticism, Trump ultimately delievered the final blow.
Musk, who spent $277 million to help Trump win the election and has since become a key member of the president-elect’s brain trust, posted dozens of times on his social media platform X opposing the initial government funding measure following its release. Hours later, after Trump intervened, the deal was dead.
Gonzales, who was among 34 Republicans who opposed the final measure to keep the government funded, said he did so because his constituents were against the continuing resolution, or CR, “just as much as I was against the CR.”
“It was a vote on my end to say, let’s do our job,” he said, arguing that there’s a “sickness in DC” that won’t be cured by “big, long pork-filled bills.”
The Texas Republicans said he spoke with Musk a couple times during the week. And Gonzales argued that, although unelected, Musk has a voice that is in large part “a reflection of the voice of the people.” He also argued that Trump deserves credit for whittling the bill down from its initial form.
Meanwhile, the spending legislation, along with the ensuing chaos in the House, prompted intense criticism of House Speaker Mike Johnson for his handling of the situation. At least one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, said he wouldn’t support Johnson for speaker in the new Congress, while questions swirled about his ability to retain enough support to hold onto the gavel.
Despite his opposition to the legislation, Gonzales said he supports Johnson as speaker, arguing that “he’s done a fantastic job keeping us all together” and noting that “it’s like feral cats in the House.”
Gonzales said Johnson has “a tough job to begin with,” while adding that the speaker’s ability to work with the president-elect and Musk to find a solution “just goes to prove that he’s found a way.”
