Despite what Donald Trump and JD Vance may say, the chaos on Capitol Hill this week can be traced back to one man: Elon Musk.
House Speaker Mike Johnson had negotiated a deal with Democrats that was by all accounts a typically larded-up 1,500-page behemoth of a funding bill.
But despite the bill’s imperfections, there was an agreement that seemed to have wrapped up all the loose ends for the year. Members of Congress and their staffs were packing their bags and getting their last-minute Christmas shopping done in Washington.
Then Musk stepped in.
With over 100 posts on his own platform X — including the 1:32 p.m. declaration, “THIS CRIMINAL BILL MUST NOT PASS” and another threatening, “Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” — Musk managed to blow up months of negotiation, leaving Johnson scrambling.
Given that he doesn’t seem to know that only 19 Republican senators are up for re-election in 2026, I am a bit skeptical that Musk knows exactly how a bill becomes a law. This summary from Johnson made it sound a lot like he had to explain how the process of getting approval for spending typically works. And there is a real question whether Musk would follow through with his threat to fund primary opponents against anyone who opposes Trump’s agenda.
But what this week made clear is that Musk has more power than the speaker of the House, who is second in line to the presidency. And maybe even the vice president-elect. I mean, where is Vance these days anyway?
Further confirmation of Johnson’s weakness came when Trump was asked about his confidence in him, Trump responded: “We’ll see. What they had yesterday was unacceptable … It’s a Democrat trap.” If this week made one thing clear, Musk’s X account is going to make for a heck of a ride in Washington come January.
Read more exclusive insights from Jen Psaki here. And tune into "Inside with Jen Psaki" Mondays at 8 p.m. ET, and Sundays at 12 p.m. ET on MSNBC.
