Elon Musk is Donald Trump’s wrecking ball

Musk, with his billions and his global reach via X, is unlike anyone else in Trumpworld. Photo: Bloomberg/Getty Images

The US government has just narrowly avoided a shutdown — and the speculation, confusion and concern around tech titan Elon Musk's power in Washington is rampant. So rampant that President-elect Donald Trump's incoming press secretary was forced to clarify.

"As soon as President Trump released his official stance on the CR, Republicans on Capitol Hill echoed his point of view," Karoline Leavitt explained about the plan to keep the government funded, known as a continuing resolution."President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party. Full stop."

This was not entirely convincing. It was not convincing because Musk, who gave Trump's reelection effort a quarter of a billion dollars, has emerged as an unexpected, unelected and uncontrollable political powerhouse. He derailed the bipartisan plan to keep the government open and put Speaker of the House Mike Johnson's job in jeopardy by posting to his 200 million followers on X, the platform he owns. 

"This bill should not pass," Musk posted at 4:15 am on Wednesday. 

He followed up with over 150 additional posts, some of which were outright lies about the bill. (There was no 40% raise for lawmakers or $3 billion sweetheart deal for a football stadium in DC.) Trump and his nearly invisible actual governing partner, JD Vance, weighed in later — much later.

Twelve hours later, the bill was dead and Musk crowed on X that "the voice of the people has triumphed!"

Musk has been dubbed "first buddy" but he is much more like Trump's co-pilot, enforcer and benefactor.  And the unnecessary chaos they injected into the budget deal is an unfortunate preview of the next four years. 

For Republicans, it means constantly being threatened with Musk-funded primary threats if they don't fall in line. It also means facing a more menacing threat from the MAGA mob, the same group that stormed the Capitol four years ago with shouts of hanging then-Vice President Mike Pence. Despite all of this, 38 Republicans ultimately ended up defying Trump and Musk, voting no on the so-called "skinny CR." Their calculation was likely that there is strength in numbers and that 2026 is eons away in political time.  

For Democrats,  Musk's omnipresence means having to counter another unpredictable force who not only has Trump's ear but has a sizable business portfolio backed by government contracts. 

"Currently, the American public has no way of knowing whether the advice that he is whispering to you in secret is good for the country — or merely good for his own bottom line,"Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote in an open letter to Trump earlier this month. 

Notably, one of the provisions of the original bill that was stripped out after Musk's tweetstorm imposed new regulations on technological transactions involving China, where Musk has significant business ties. Its deletion was a major win for Musk. The White House, largely silent during the negotiations, pointed this out in a statement. Democrats would do well to continue to point to Musk's conflicted and self-serving role. 

The conventional wisdom is that at some point Trump will tire of sharing the spotlight with Musk. Democrats have started to refer to Musk as the president-elect and Trump as the vice president-elect to perhaps to drive a wedge between the pair. Trump has fired people from his inner circle before.

But Musk, with his billions and his global reach via X, is unlike anyone else in Trumpworld. Casting off cabinet secretaries and the likes of "Sloppy Steve" Bannon was much easier. Those people didn't have Musk's reach or celebrity — or his billions. They were sycophants who needed Trump more than he needed them. By contrast, Musk confers status on Trump by being by his side. He broadens Trump's reach and his power. Put simply, Musk makes Trump bigger. Some Republicans have suggested that Musk should be the next speaker of the House, yet this would be a major step down. 

Washington's newest power couple will likely only bring more chaos and corruption once Trump takes the oath of office. Reining them in will be difficult for Democrats, particularly if voters, in awe of Musk's wealth and bravado, give him a pass and simply assume he is just looking out for the interests of ordinary Americans, rather than protecting his own.

Nia-Malika Henderson is a politics and policy columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. A former senior political reporter for CNN and the Washington Post, she has covered politics and campaigns for almost two decades.

Disclaimer: This article first appeared on Bloomberg, and is published by special syndication arrangement.