Is a falling out between Donald Trump and Elon Musk inevitable?
The two men are allied currently, with Musk having backed a pro-Trump Super PAC and named to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which will be somewhere between a powerless government advisory committee and a body with veto party over the entire federal budget.
Already, even before Trump’s inauguration, Musk has moved to scuttle a deal to avoid a government shutdown, although a slightly different agreement was later agreed to, and there will not be a shutdown.
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— Annie van Leur (@AnnevanLeur) December 20, 2024
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Trump and Musk have been at odds before, including when Musk resigned from Trump’s business advisory counsels early in the first Trump Administration. Will they but heads again? One former Republican Congressman belies they will.
Former Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA) was among the Republican members of Congress who left office during Trump’s presidency and has frequently spoken out against what has become of his party in the Trump era.
Appearing Friday on Jake Tapper’s CNN show, Dent predicted that the shutdown kerfuffle is a preview of “chaos” over the next four years. Dent noted on the show that considering the tiny House majority the Republicans enjoy, they’re going to need some level of bipartisanship in order to govern.
“We all know this. That’s why there have to be conversations with the Democrats. Because they need the Democrats to vote for these things and therefore they’re going to expect things in these bills,” Dent said on the show.
“It was Elon Musk who really tanked the bipartisan compromise,” Dent added on CNN. “And then Donald Trump belatedly jumped in with an assist. And I can’t imagine Donald Trump is too happy that Musk is out there kind of directing Congress to do something without his knowledge, apparently.”
Dent was referencing comments by Steve Bannon, the former Trump adviser who is not set for a role in the administration, but remains influential.
“If you think the last 48 hours has been unique, every day coming in, when President Trump takes over, is going to be like this. Particularly as Elon [Musk] tries to make these type of cuts and President Trump tries to reorganize the government. He’s going to get it on the right track and save the country,” Bannon said after the shutdown deal, per Raw Story.
Dent added that the Republicans also can’t spare any hardline defectors, with their small majority.
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
