The Democratic senators are calling for an investigation into tech billionaire Elon Musk, while Republicans close to President-elect Donald Trump are also frustrated with him for seemingly overstepping and intervening too much.
Senate Armed Services Committee ChairmanElon Musk and Mr. Trump at a campaign event. Photo: Getty Images
Reed and senior Foreign Relations Committee member Jeanne Shaheen raised concerns about media allegations against Musk in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Pentagon Inspector General Robert Storch, calling for an investigation of the billionaire.
In October, at the peak of the U.S. presidential election, The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk had been in contact with several high-ranking Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, as recently as this year.
As CEO of SpaceX, Musk oversees billions of dollars in U.S. government contracts. Given Musk’s claim of holding top-secret security clearance and managing highly sensitive government contracts, his potential contact with Russia is a risk, the senators noted.
“These relationships between a well-known adversary of the United States and Mr. Musk, who benefits from billions in U.S. government funding, raise serious questions about his reliability as a government contractor and a holder of security clearance,” they wrote.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed the WSJ’s claims before the election regarding Musk’s alleged phone calls with Putin as “disinformation.” Traditionally, there has been only one call between the two, he said.
“Before 2022, they spoke on the phone,” Peskov stated, adding that they discussed Russian scientific progress and potential future developments. “There has been no contact between Musk and Putin since then, and any other claims are false.”
Rising Frustration
Meanwhile, Trump’s allies appear displeased with Musk as well. NBC News reported on November 13 that Musk’s closeness with the president-elect seems to have irritated some of Trump’s transition staff.
“And he’s certainly taking a lot of credit for the president’s victory. He’s boasting about America PAC and X to anyone who will listen. He’s trying to make President Trump feel indebted to him. And the president doesn’t owe anyone,” the source added.
A second source noted that Musk “has an opinion on everything,” and his insistence on sharing these opinions has started to annoy Trump’s top advisors. “He wants to be seen as having a say in everything (even if he doesn’t),” the source explained, adding that Musk’s aggressive lobbying could harm his position with the president-elect in the long term.
However, Trump praised the tech billionaire. “Elon Musk is a great guy, full of character and intelligence,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on November 13. “He’s certainly a high-IQ individual, which is why his strong support means so much to me and to MAGA.”
Trump’s spokesperson told NBC, “Elon Musk and President Trump are great friends and brilliant leaders working together to make America great again. Elon Musk is a unique business leader, and our federal government will certainly benefit from his ideas and efficiency.”
Inescapable Presence
Donald Trump joked about Musk’s constant presence at a formal event at Mar-a-Lago celebrating his election victory.
During his first major speech since winning the White House last week, Trump spoke at a dinner for the America First Policy Institute in Palm Beach, Florida, on Thursday night, joking that the tech billionaire “just loves the place.”
“Elon, he’s doing well, he’s doing well,” Trump said, full of praise. “He’s great; he’s really a good guy. You know, he loves this place. I can’t kick him out of here,” he joked, echoing something he previously said at the House.
Reports indicate Musk has spent “almost every day” with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. He even joined Trump’s golf game with the president-elect’s 17-year-old niece, Kai. In a social media post, Kai Trump even called the charming billionaire her “uncle.”
Elon Musk has also been referred to as “the first lady” after he appeared in a family photo with Trump during the victory celebration at his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
Interestingly, future First Lady Melania Trump was absent from the photo, leading some to joke that Musk had replaced her.
The billionaire has also joined calls with world leaders, including Trump’s discussions with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. According to The New York Times, Musk met with Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, earlier this week. Iranian sources described this as an attempt to “ease tensions” between the U.S. and Iran, and the meeting was “positive” and “good news.”
Elon Musk was also one of Trump’s aides seen disembarking the president-elect’s plane on Wednesday, November 13, as he arrived in Washington, D.C., to meet with Republican leaders and President Joe Biden.
The world’s richest man sat in the front row at the Capitol Hill event, where Trump addressed a Republican meeting in the House.
“Elon isn’t going home,” Trump joked with House Republicans, according to a participant reported by the Daily Mail. “I can’t get rid of him. Until I no longer like him,” the president-elect added.
Musk has been a constant presence on the campaign trail. The billionaire founded a pro-Trump super PAC and even launched a daily lottery last month, awarding $1 million to those who signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments.
Veteran tech journalist Kara Swisher told CNN on Sunday morning that Trump insiders were confused and worried about Musk’s level of influence.
“He certainly always wedges his way in; that’s his style. That’s why he suddenly appeared there as an unwelcome guest who refuses to leave,” she said.
