Republicans Forced to Do Damage Control, Calm Down Lawmakers After Elon Musk Slams 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Supporters: Report
Leaders of the Republican Party are scrambling to settle other party members after billionaire Elon Musk launched a scathing criticism of the Trump-backed GOP spending bill.
Speaker Mike Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Senate Majority Leader John Thune are attempting to quell uncertainty amongst congressmen from their party caused by Musk's rebuke of the "one big, beautiful bill."
Johnson attempted to reassure Republican lawmakers during a House Republican Conference which occurred behind closed doors on Wednesday, three sources who were present at the meeting told POLITICO.
Furthermore, the Speaker of the House has been in contact with the Tesla CEO and has attempted to explain the reasoning behind the spending bill in an attempt to garner Musk's support.
"I think he's flat wrong, and I've told him as much," Johnson said at a news conference after the meeting.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that he did not expect Musk's comments to sway Senate Republicans on Wednesday.
"Obviously he has some influence, got a big following on social media," he said. "But at the end of the day this is a 51-vote exercise here in the Senate, and I think it's going to be the question for our members is going to be would you prefer the alternative. And the alternative isn't a good one."
Thune also stated that he had been in contact with Musk within the past few days.
"There are going to be a lot of people who share commentary about this, and we just got to make sure we're doing everything we can to get our arguments out there," Thune added.
During an interview, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise stated that Musk's comments did not severely impact the party's ability to raise funds or garner support, further stating that the GOP is "continuing to see fundraising goals get exceeded."
"The speaker, myself, our whole team continues to exceed fundraising goals, because people know what's at stake next year," Scalise added. "And President Trump's all in, by the way, too, helping us hold the House. ... He's been our best, most effective deliverer of support."
Originally published on Latin Times
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