Elon Musk walks on Capitol Hill on the day of a meeting with Senate Republican Leader-elect John Thune (R-SD), in Washington, U.S., on December 5, 2024.
Benoit Tessier | Reuters
House Democrats Jim McGovern of Massachusetts and Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut say their Republican counterparts in Congress have caved to the demands Elon Muskoverturning a bipartisan government funding bill that would have regulated American investment in China.
Congress enacted a a separate account for temporary funding over the weekend, avoiding a government shutdown.
ua series of posts at X, McGovern said more could have been achieved. The repealed provision “would make it easier to keep cutting-edge AI and quantum computing technology — as well as jobs — in America,” he wrote. “But Elon had a problem.”
Teslaled by Musk, is the only foreign automaker to operate a factory in China without a local joint venture. This year, Tesla also built a battery factory down the street from its car factory in Shanghai, and it aims to develop and sell self-driving vehicle technology in China.
“His outcome depends on whether he stays in China’s good graces,” McGovern wrote of Musk. “He also wants to build an AI data center there – which could threaten US security. He’s been bending over backwards to ingratiate himself with Chinese leaders.”
SpaceX, Musk’s space and defense contractor, has allegedly held back its Starlink satellite Internet service via Taiwan at the request of Chinese and Russian leaders. Taiwan is a self-governing democracy that Beijing considers its territory. The status of Taiwan is one of the biggest flashpoints in US-China relations.
DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, wrote in a letter Congress on Friday that Musk needs “Chinese government approvals for his company’s projects in the country.” Worryingly, Musk “ingratiated himself with the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party,” she wrote.
In the letter, DeLauro referred to the Tesla and SpaceX CEO as “President” Musk, alluding to the fact that the world’s richest person began railing against the pre-funding bill on Wednesday, before the president-elect Donald Trump came out with his own statement.
Trump wanted the GOP to sink the bill and issue a new one that would raise the debt ceiling so he could avoid that fight early in his second term. Law on Temporary Financing, which President Joe Biden signed on Saturday, did not include the two-year suspension of the US debt limit that Trump had sought.
Musk responded to DeLaura’s concerns by calling her an “horrible creature” in a post on X.
After taking over Twitter in 2022, Musk rebranded it as X and used it to put Trump back in the White House, becoming a close adviser and major backer of the incoming president along the way.
Musk contributed $277 million to the Trump campaign and other Republican causes during the 2024 cycle, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Since the November election, Musk has become an almost constant presence alongside Trump, including meetings with foreign leaders.
Trump has named Musk to co-lead the group, which has not yet been formed but will be tasked with finding ways to cut regulations, staff and budgets.
