Congress
Elon’s back: The tech mogul’s checkbook and platform are galvanizing the GOP
Just six months ago, most congressional Republicans kept their distance from Elon Musk after the tech mogul’s messy political breakup with President Donald Trump and his feverish attempt to kill their signature megabill.
Musk is persona non grata no longer, thanks to his mega checkbook and mega platform — both of which he is now using to influence the future of the GOP.
Republicans see his recent donation to a Kentucky Senate candidate as an encouraging sign that Musk will make good on his promises to back the GOP, and top House leaders are elated — especially those in charge of defending their razor-thin majority. Musk spent more than $260 million in the last election helping to elect Trump and Republicans.
“It’s definitely a positive development for us,” NRCC Chair Richard Hudson said in an interview.
He added, “By the way, when they had their rift, I told you all this would happen.”
That rift seemed unlikely to heal early on, with Musk accusing the president of covering up the Jeffrey Epstein files because Trump was named in the documents, then threatening to start his own political party.
But just six months later, Musk is back having dinners with Trump and attempting to steer GOP policy again — and he is making his presence felt in key offices on Capitol Hill.
Musk, who posted on New Year’s Day that “America is toast if the radical left wins,” did not respond to requests for comment.
Recently he has used his 233-million-follower X account to push Senate Republicans to pass the SAVE Act — a bill meant to tighten election laws to prevent noncitizens from voting, in part by imposing new proof-of-citizenship requirements and restricting mail voting.
The campaign has driven a huge volume of calls to member offices, according to two aides granted anonymity to discuss internal matters, forcing Republican after Republican to publicly state their support for the legislation. It has no Democratic support and has not been called up for a vote because it cannot overcome the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster hurdle.
Two of the Senate’s most endangered Republican incumbents — Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Cornyn — have leaned into Musk’s push to hold a vote on the bill, often reposting his messages on their accounts. Cornyn also spoke privately with Thune about the bill last week.
When Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas announced on X Saturday he was “reviewing” the bill, Musk reposted the message with a pair of American flag emojis.
Asked about the bill, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in an interview Tuesday night that he was sure it would come up for a vote “at some point” but “we’ll have to figure out where we can get it done.”
“We’ve got a lot of interest in it, and I’m supportive of it,” Thune said, noting he has co-sponsored the bill previously.
The public pressure campaign appears to have caught some Republicans by surprise given that there’s been little internal rush to formally sign onto the bill since it’s currently not moving and can’t pass the Senate.
Congressional Republicans, who have fresh memories of the trail of destruction he has often left on Capitol Hill, see Musk’s re-emergence as a mixed blessing. He blew up a carefully negotiated bipartisan government funding deal in December 2024 and almost sunk the GOP megabill in the final stages of passage over his personal objections to the cancellation of electric vehicle subsidies and other policies.
“He’s a big voice,” said Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah), a member of House GOP leadership, who recalled how Musk was “really antagonistic” about the huge Republican policy bill last year.
But, he added, “I think if he’s willing to be accurate, yeah, then I then totally want him on board.”
That’s especially true when it comes to Musk’s money. Even amid his feuding with Trump, he cut $10 million worth of checks to the GOP super PACs charged with preserving the House and Senate majorities.
But with Musk dropping another $10 million into Kentucky Senate candidate Nate Morris’ campaign effort — and ending his dalliance with a third party — the expectation is that more checks will now be on the way.
Hudson said he hasn’t talked to Musk yet about any future financial commitments to helping House Republicans. But members are straining to get in his good graces as Republicans face huge midterm challenges without Trump on the ballot.
“History is not on our side,” Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) said, referring to the typical midterm losses suffered by the president’s party. “We’ll take any and all help possible to reverse that trend in history, because I think it’s important for the Republican Party.”
Whether they want Musk as a presence on the campaign trail is a more complicated question. His Department of Government Efficiency initiative is widely seen as a bust nearly a year later, and his post-2024 election efforts to vocally back conservatives — like a Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate — backfired at the ballot box.
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), a hard-liner who is running for governor of South Carolina, said Musk “did an unbelievable job in identifying waste, fraud and abuse” and would be welcome both on the campaign trail and in his potential administration as an efficiency consultant.
But Republicans in swingier territory are cooler to the idea of a large Musk presence in their races this fall.
Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.), one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the House, said he was pleased to see Trump and Musk patch up their rift — that “obviously we are better when we are united and as a team.”
Asked if he wanted Musk to campaign in his district, Bresnahan was more equivocal.
“I’m not really sure — I’m impartial,” Bresnahan said. “We look at whoever’s going to be supportive of what we’re trying to do for northeastern Pennsylvania, and if their mission aligns with our mission, then we’re going to embrace it.”
Congress
Mike Johnson says House can end government shutdown ‘by Tuesday’
House Speaker Mike Johnson said he is confident Congress can end the partial government shutdown “by Tuesday” despite steep opposition from Democrats and turmoil within the GOP conference.
Johnson is under pressure to unite his caucus, with lawmakers raising concerns about funding for the Department of Homeland Security as the Trump administration faces scrutiny over its nationwide immigration crackdown that has at times turned violent.
House Republicans are hoping to take up the $1.2 trillion funding package passed by the Senate on Tuesday following a House Rules Committee meeting Monday. The partial shutdown began early Saturday.
GOP leadership in the House originally hoped to pass the bill under suspension of the rules, an expedited process that requires a two-thirds-majority vote, but Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told Johnson on Saturday that Democrats would not help Republicans acquire the necessary support for the spending bill.
“I’m confident that we’ll do it at least by Tuesday,” Johnson said in a Sunday interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We have a logistical challenge of getting everyone in town, and because of the conversation I had with Hakeem Jeffries, I know that we’ve got to pass a rule and probably do this mostly on our own. I think that’s very unfortunate.”
The Senate voted Friday to pass a compromise spending package after Senate Democrats struck a deal with President Donald Trump to extend DHS funding for two weeks. The move bought Congress more time to work out a compromise on reforms for Immigration and Customs Enforcement after federal officers fatally shot two people in Minnesota earlier this month.
Speaking to host Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press,” Johnson acknowledged that “there’s been tragedies in Minnesota” — but he also blamed Democrats in the state for “inciting violence,” even as the Trump administration attempts to tamp down pressures in the state.
Johnson praised Trump’s decision to send White House border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis, a step widely seen as a deescalation from the aggressive tactics favored by Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino.
“[Trump] was right to deputize him over that situation,” he said of Homan on NBC. “He has 40 years of experience in Border Patrol and these issues. So I think that this is going to happen, but we need good faith on both sides. Some of these conditions and requests that they’ve made are obviously reasonable and should happen. But others are going to require a lot more negotiation.”
Johnson pushed back in particular on Democratic calls to bar federal immigration enforcement officers from wearing masks and require them to wear identification, telling Fox’s Shannon Bream: “Those two things are conditions that would create further danger.”
He also signaled an unwillingness to negotiate on Democratic demands to tighten requirements for judicial warrants for immigration operations.
Still, House Democrats remained opposed to passing the funding package as is, with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) saying Sunday: “I’m not just a no. I’m a firm no.”
“I just don’t see how in good conscience Democrats can vote for continuing ICE funding when they’re killing American citizens, when there’s no provision to repeal the tripling of the budget,” Khanna said in a Sunday interview with Welker on NBC. “I hope my colleagues will say no.”
Jeffries also signaled Sunday that a wide gap remains between his conference and House Republicans, telling ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that the House must reach an agreement on judicial warrants “as a condition of moving forward.”
“The one thing that we’ve said publicly is that we need a robust path toward dramatic reform,” Jeffries said on ABC’s “This Week.” “The administration can’t just talk the talk, they need to walk the walk. That should begin today. Not in two weeks, today.”
Congress
Shutdown likely to continue at least into Tuesday
The partial government shutdown that began early Saturday morning is on track to continue at least into Tuesday, which is the earliest the House is now expected to vote on a $1.2 trillion funding package due to opposition from Democrats and internal GOP strife.
House Republican leaders have scheduled a Monday meeting of the House Rules Committee to prepare the massive Senate-passed spending bill for the floor. According to two people granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, the procedural measure teeing up a final vote would not happen until Tuesday, with final passage following if that is successful.
That’s one day later than GOP leaders had hoped. Their previous plan was to pass the bill with Democratic help under suspension of the rules, a fast-track process requiring a two-thirds-majority vote.
But that plan was complicated by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries telling Speaker Mike Johnson in a private conversation Saturday that Democratic leadership would not help Johnson secure the 70 or so Democratic votes to get the measure over the line, according to the two people and another person granted anonymity to discuss the matter.
The Tuesday plan remains tentative as GOP leaders scramble to navigate tensions inside their own conference, which could make passing the procedural measure difficult. Some conservative hard-liners, for instance, want to attach a sweeping elections bill to the package.
Jeffries said in a MS NOW interview Saturday that Republicans “cannot simply move forward with legislation taking a my way or the highway approach” while noting that House Democrats are set to have “a discussion about the appropriate way forward” in a Sunday evening caucus call — first reported by Blue Light News.
He did not rule out that Democrats might support the Senate-passed spending package, which funds the majority of federal agencies through Sept. 30 while providing a two-week extension for the Department of Homeland Security — including controversial immigration enforcement agencies.
Democrats, Jeffries said, want “a robust, ironclad path to bringing about the type of change that the American people are demanding” in immigration enforcement.
Congress
Here’s what federal programs are headed for a (possibly brief) shutdown
Government funding is set to lapse at midnight Friday for the military and many domestic programs, but cash will continue to flow at a slew of federal agencies Congress already funded.
House leaders are aiming to send a funding package to President Donald Trump Monday, days after the Senate passed the legislation just before the deadline to avert a partial shutdown.
The effect on most federal programs is expected to be minor, and employees who are furloughed would miss just one day of work if the House acts on schedule — which is not assured.
This time, many of the services that have the greatest public impact when shuttered — like farm loans, SNAP food assistance to low-income households and upkeep at national parks — will continue. That’s because Congress already funded some agencies in November and earlier this month, including the departments of Energy, Commerce, Justice, Agriculture, Interior and Veterans Affairs, as well as military construction projects, the EPA, congressional operations, the FDA and federal science programs.
Still, the spending package congressional leaders are trying to clear for Trump’s signature next week contains the vast majority of the funding Congress approves each year to run federal programs, including $839 billion for the military.
Besides the Pentagon, funding will lapse for several major nondefense agencies beginning early Saturday morning.
That includes federal transportation, labor, housing, education and health programs, along with the IRS, independent trade agencies and foreign aid. The departments of Homeland Security, State and Treasury will also be hit by the shutdown.
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