Here's the scoop:
“Democrats and Republicans spent months negotiating a bipartisan agreement to fund our government,” Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont who has long criticized the power of wealthy business executives, wrote on X. “The richest man on Earth, President Elon Musk, doesn’t like it. Will Republicans kiss the ring? Billionaires must not be allowed to run our government.”
In more than 150 separate posts on X, starting before dawn on Wednesday, Mr. Musk demanded that Republicans back away from a bipartisan spending deal that was meant to avoid a government shutdown over Christmas. He vowed political retribution against anyone voting for the sprawling bill backed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who called Mr. Musk on Wednesday to ask that he stop posting about the bill.

By the end of Wednesday, Mr. Trump issued a statement of his own, calling the bill “a betrayal of our country.”

It was a remarkable moment for Mr. Musk, who has never been elected to public office but now appears to be the largest megaphone for the man about to retake the Oval Office. Larger, in fact, than Mr. Trump himself, whose own vaunted social media presence is dwarfed by that of Mr. Musk.
- New York Times

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For Discussion:
- What's your view on this story?
- Is Elon Musk wielding too much power or influence?
- Will Elon Musk become a problem for President Trump's administration?
 
For Discussion:
- What's your view on this story?
- Is Elon Musk wielding too much power or influence?
Personally, I don't blame Elon Musk for killing the funding bill through threats and influence, but rather I blame lawmakers for giving into him. Musk is a private citizen and he can say whatever he wants, but lawmakers are the ones that can decide to ignore him and vote in a way they see fit.

What really gets me is why are Republican lawmakers are seemingly afraid of Elon or are letting him have all of this influence. Why aren't lawmakers afraid of the American people in the same way? It shouldn't take having money to get lawmakers to listen. Poor or less rich voters should have as much influence on lawmakers as Musk does.