Elon Musk walks around the Capitol on the day of his meeting with Senate Republican Leader John Thune (R-SD) in Washington, December 5, 2024.
Benoit Tessier | Reuters
House Democrats Jim McGovern of Massachusetts and Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut say their Republican colleagues in Congress have given in to demands Elon Musksinking a bipartisan government funding bill that would regulate U.S. investment in China.
Congress passed separate bill for interim funding on the weekend, which will avoid a government shutdown.
In series of posts in the case of X, McGovern said more could have been achieved. The repealed provision “would make it easier to keep cutting-edge artificial intelligence and quantum computing technology — and jobs — in America,” he wrote. “But Elon had a problem.”
Teslaled by Musk is the only foreign automaker with a factory in China without a local joint venture. Tesla also built a battery factory this year near its Shanghai car plant and aims to develop and sell autonomous vehicle technology in China.
“His performance depends on whether he remains in China's good graces,” McGovern wrote of Musk. “He also wants to build an artificial intelligence data center there, which could threaten US security. He is bending over backwards to please the Chinese leadership.”
SpaceX, Musk's aerospace and defense contractor, has already done this apparently suspended Starlink satellite internet service in Taiwan at the request of the leaders of China and Russia. Taiwan is a self-governing democracy that Beijing claims as its territory. Taiwan's status is one of the most important flashpoints in US-China relations.
DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, he wrote in a letter on Friday to Congress that Musk needs “Chinese government approvals for his company's projects in the country.” It's disturbing that Musk “has ingratiated himself with the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party,” she wrote.
In his letter, DeLauro called Tesla and SpaceX CEO “President” Musk, referring to the fact that the world's richest person began criticizing the earlier funding bill on Wednesday in front of the president-elect. Donald Trump issued his own statement.
Trump wanted the Republican Party to scrap the bill and put forward a new one that would raise the debt ceiling so he could avoid this fight early in his second term. The Temporary Funds Act, which President Joe Biden signed on Saturday did not include the two-year suspension of the U.S. debt limit sought by Trump.
Musk responded to DeLauro's concerns by calling her “a.” “horrible creature” in the post on X.
After taking over Twitter in 2022, Musk renamed it X and used it to help Trump return to the White House, becoming a close advisor and major supporter of the new president along the way.
Federal Election Commission documents show that Musk donated $277 million to Trump's campaign and other Republican Party goals in 2024. Since the November election, Musk has been almost constantly present at Trump's side, including meetings with foreign leaders.
Trump has named Musk as co-chair of the group, which has not yet been formed but will be tasked with finding ways to cut regulations, staff and budgets.
TO WATCH: Musk's influence on the government
