House Democrats have a plan to help them win back the working class: turn the world’s richest person into their boogeyman.

They’ve set their sights on holding Elon Musk to account, by attempting to subpoena him and introducing legislation to block him from receiving federal contracts while he holds a “special” role inside the government. They believe the idea of an unelected billionaire wreaking chaos on the bureaucracy will be unpopular with voters — and now they have some data to prove it.

New internal polling, conducted on behalf of House Majority Forward, a nonprofit aligned with House Democratic leadership, found Musk is viewed negatively among 1,000 registered voters in battleground districts. His approval rating is upside down (43 percent approve to 51 disapprove) and his favorability is even worse (42 percent favorable to 51 percent unfavorable).

And the survey was completed between Jan. 19-25 — before some of Musk’s more extreme moves as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency.

Pollsters asked respondents for their thoughts on “the creation of a government of the rich for the rich by appointing up to nine different billionaires to the administration,” and found 70 percent opposed with only 19 percent in support — a stat that suggests Democrats have landed on a message that could gain traction with swing voters.

That data and focus groups held by House Majority Fund helped bring attacks on the administration into focus: Democrats “shouldn’t chide Musk, Trump, and others for being rich,” the group wrote, but point out Musk’s conflicts of interests as head of DOGE and note that he could undermine key safety net programs to enrich himself at the expense of American taxpayers.

“Participants laud Musk’s business acumen and aren’t opposed to the ideals of DOGE,” HMF found. But “Musk’s relationship with Trump – who they view as inherently pro-big business” makes them wary that billionaire’s cuts “could include programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.”

Democrats have been in the midst of a deep soul search, trying to figure out how they lost the White House, both chambers of Congress and the working-class voters that had once been the backbone of their party. The Democratic resistance has been muted in the open weeks of Donald Trump’s second term as its members struggle to land on a common theme.

But Musk’s frenzied campaign to eliminate waste and lower spending has rocked the federal bureaucracy. And in recent days, Democrats have seized on Musk and other wealthy members of Trump’s administration as a way to make their case to the working class.

The poll, conducted by the Democratic firm Impact Research, also found that Musk evoked strong negative feelings. Of the 51 percent who viewed him unfavorably, 41 percent found him “very unfavorable.” Of the 51 percent who disapproved of him, 43 percent did so strongly.

Senate Republicans are forging ahead with their budget plan next week as Hill skepticism persists that Speaker Mike Johnson will be able to unify his conference around one mammoth bill.

There’s a lot of movement — here’s where things stand:

The Senate: “It’s time for the Senate to move,” Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham told reporters after emerging from a closed-door conference meeting Wednesday in which he walked Republicans through his fiscal blueprint. Republicans are hoping to vote on it in committee next week.

The resolution is expected to include roughly $150 billion for border security and a similar “range” for defense spending, Graham said. Senate Armed Services is expected to be tasked with coming up with the spending for the military, while Senate Homeland Security and Judiciary will tackle the border spending. Senators plan to tackle tax priorities in a second bill.

Republican senators will be at a private Mar-a-Lago dinner with Trump on Friday, where they plan to discuss budget reconciliation.

The House: GOP leaders are still stalled on a plan, and Republicans are getting antsy. They’re starting to look at other options, our colleagues Benjamin Guggenheim and Meredith Lee Hill report. That includes a short term tax-cut proposal, which would allow Republicans to contain some costs and satisfy some hard-liner demands. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Fox Business that he wants permanent cuts, not an extension, as Republicans are discussing.

Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith, the House’s top tax writer, is unhappy about Graham moving first: “It’s kind of unfortunate that he’s going to go through a practice that doesn’t accomplish anything.”

At least one conservative appears to be optimistic about this week’s progress, as leadership signals they’re looking for at least $1 trillion in cuts (though senior House Republicans are skeptical they can meet that goal). Rep. Ralph Norman, a key Freedom Caucus and Budget Committee member, said that a budget blueprint could be released by the end of the week.

Norman has so far rejected leadership’s proposals but said Wednesday the current work is “promising.” Rep. Chip Roy, another Freedom Caucus member on the Budget Committee, said he is on board with a 10-year tax cut extension if paired with a $2.5 trillion in cuts.=

What else we’re watching:

• Prayer breakfast: Trump is headed to Statutory Hall at 8 a.m. for the National Prayer Breakfast, which Johnson will host.
• Benjamin Netanyahu heads to Congress: The Israeli prime minister will arrive on Blue Light News amid Republican skepticism and Democratic criticism of Trump’s call to “take over” Gaza and relocate Palestinians. He’s meeting Senate Majority Leader John Thune at 10 a.m. and Johnson at 1:25 p.m.
• Trump’s trade guy: Jamieson Greer, Trump’s pick to be the next U.S. trade representative, will face questions about the president’s dizzying set of actions on trade and tariffs over the past week at his Senate confirmation hearing Thursday morning. Greer served as chief of staff to Trump’s first-term USTR Robert Lighthizer and played a role in transforming the U.S. trading relationship with China.
• Vought vote: Senate Democrats are running out the debate clock on Vought’s OMB nomination and plan to vote unanimously against his confirmation Thursday evening, as Schumer faces rising pressure from within his party to counter Trump however possible. It won’t matter — Republicans are poised to push Vought through.

Meredith Lee Hill, Jordain Carney, Benjamin Guggenheim, Katherine Tully-McManus and Ari Hawkins contributed to this report.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee moved to subpoena tech billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk at a hearing Wednesday — and one Democrat was conspicuously and missing from the vote, Rep. Ro Khanna of California, who represents Silicon Valley and has a longtime relationship with the billionaire.

Khanna said he missed the vote and said he was unaware it was happening — but three Democrats familiar with the run-up to the vote who were granted anonymity to describe what ensued said Democrats were given a heads-up about the maneuver to try to catch Republicans by surprise. Khanna, they said, knew they vote was happening and made an intentional decision to miss it.

In the end, the motion to subpoena Musk was shut down by Republicans on the committee on a 20-19 vote — with eight lawmakers missing the vote, including Democrats Khanna and Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.), who missed for an unrelated reason, one Democrat familiar with the planning said.

The rest of the members who missed were Republicans.

Khanna disputed the characterization that he missed the vote on purpose, saying on X that he “would have voted yes.”

“They called a procedural vote without notice & I like 8 others didn’t make it there on time,” he said in a post. “Musk’s attacks on our institutions are unconstitutional. He should be subpoenaed & answer to our committee. They should call the vote again with notice.”

Musk responded to Khanna’s post, writing to him, “Don’t be a dick.”

The three Democrats familiar with the planning said Khanna’s staff was properly notified about the vote ahead of time.

One senior Democratic aide said there was a member meeting Tuesday evening that Khanna missed to discuss the motions for a subpoena. Democrats also announced the motion to all staff and his staff was present on that call — and that the top Democrat on Oversight, Gerry Connolly, told the Democratic Caucus about the plan this morning, two people said.