Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk on Wednesday poured out misinformation about Congress' year-end funding deal while urging Republicans to force a vote on the stopgap bill.
Musk, a close ally of President-elect Trump, took to his social platform X just hours after the continuing resolution was announced Tuesday night, saying the deal “should not be passed.” insisted.
He began posting and reposting in quick succession, occasionally spreading misinformation about everything from pay raises for members of Congress to the cost of a football stadium in Washington, D.C.
The 20-hour campaign was ultimately successful, and President Trump vetoed the measure, sending the Republican Party back to square one.
Eric Nisbet, director of Northwestern University's Center for Communication and Public Policy, said: “X has become almost a megaphone for Elon Musk, allowing him to yell at lawmakers and have a halo effect on dubious accounts that provide questionable or false information. I can do it.''
Musk's campaign against the spending bill began with unsubstantiated criticism that the bill included a “40% pay raise” for Congress, and began with his personal account and the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) X account. Posted in.
The claim was based on another user's post, which claimed the bill would increase lawmakers' salaries from $174,000 to $243,000.
The funding agreement removes language that previously prevented lawmakers from getting raises. However, the association's recent report shows the potential adjustment in January could be as much as 3.8%, which would result in an increase of $6,600. Congressional Research Service.
The $243,000 figure, apparently taken from the same report, refers to the salary MPs would receive today if they had secured cost-of-living increases each year since 1992. Lawmakers have not received a pay increase since 2009.
Another claim Musk further emphasized is that the bill would block an investigation into the House committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. But the text of the bill makes no mention of the riot, only making clear that House data stored elsewhere is still subject to House rules.
The tech billionaire also claimed the stopgap bill would fund bioweapons labs, based on a post on popular conservative TikTok account Libs.
However, the bill seeks to fund biocontainment laboratories, which conduct research to “support public health and medical preparedness and rapid response to biological agents, including emerging infectious diseases,” rather than bioweapons laboratories. There is.
And Musk even reposted the suggestion that the bill would pave the way for a new DC football stadium that would be a “taxpayer-funded playground for NFL elites, lobbyists, and VIPs.”
The bill actually simply transfers control of the site, not funding, to the D.C. local government for development that could include a stadium, commercial and residential development, and other facilities.
“lots of [Musk’s] “This strategy really leverages his personal brand, throwing different arguments against the wall and seeing what sticks,” Nisbet added.
Congress is racing to reach a deal on government funding ahead of Friday's shutdown deadline. A bipartisan bill announced Tuesday would extend the deadline until mid-March.
Musk and other Trump allies almost immediately opposed the deal, urging Republicans to vote against it. By Wednesday afternoon, more Republicans were leaving the party and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) was considering alternatives.
President Trump announced his opposition to the deal Wednesday, calling on his party to instead pass a “streamlined spending bill” with fewer concessions to Democrats.
“Republicans want to help farmers, pay for disaster relief, and set our country up for success in 2025,” Trump said in a statement with Vice President-elect J.D. Vance. “The only way to make that happen is through a combination of a temporary funding bill with no aid from Democrats and raising the debt ceiling. Anything else is a betrayal of our country. Republicans have to get smarter and tougher.” No need.”
The rejection came hours after Musk attacked the bill, fueling criticism of his apparent influence over Congressional decision-making.
The youngest member of Congress, Representative Maxwell Frost (D-Florida), Mr. Musk criticized: “Republican unelected co-presidents” who effectively vetoed the bill. Representative Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) expressed similar dissatisfaction.
“Elon Musk snapped his fingers and we shut down the government? That's unacceptable. We are in government to serve the people we represent, not unelected billionaires,” Dingell said. I'm working in the company,” he said.
Across the aisle, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) urged Musk:Confirmation takes 5 seconds Check the source before highlighting the bottom feeder looking for clicks. ” Musk was responding to a post accusing Crenshaw of leading the push for a wage increase in Congress.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) also suggested the billionaire's comments were “premature” and said he “should have known the facts.”
Musk became a key figure in Trump's inner circle after the election, reportedly sitting in with the president-elect for job interviews and calls with world leaders.
The billionaire, who spent at least $250 million to boost President Trump's re-election bid, at one point referred to himself as his “first friend.”
“We've seen such a convergence of Trump and Musk. It's hard to know where it stops and begins anymore,” Nisbet said.
