On Wednesday morning, Fox News Fox & Friends co-host Steve Doocy seemed to suggest that Speaker Mike Johnson should prioritize Elon Musk’s wishes on a crucial congressional spending bill, implying that the world’s richest man now wields significant influence over lawmakers—despite Musk not being an elected official.
The conversation started after Doocy brought up Musk’s tweet condemning the bill, which had been released the day before. The bill, aimed at funding the federal government through March, includes over $100 billion in disaster aid and other policy measures. Some Republican members of Congress, including Rep. Chip Roy, criticized the bill, calling it irresponsible because of its high spending.
Doocy seemed to suggest that Johnson would have to face consequences for not aligning with Musk’s views. “Mr. Speaker, it’s not just that you’ve got a bunch of Republicans angry at you,” Doocy said. “They don’t like this. And just in a couple of weeks, you’re going to stand once again to run for Speaker of the House. And you don’t need a bunch of Democrats mad at you.”
Then, Doocy went further, putting pressure on Johnson by emphasizing Musk’s disapproval. “You know who else doesn’t like this? Elon Musk. The world’s richest man just tweeted: ‘This bill should not pass.’ The only way you’re going to be able to pass it now, Mr. Speaker, is with Democrats. If you could, what’s your message to Elon Musk?”
The suggestion that Johnson should be answering to Musk, instead of his own party members, seemed to give more weight to Musk’s opinion than to the concerns of elected officials. Doocy’s tone made it sound as if Musk, rather than Johnson’s fellow Republicans, was the one holding the power in Washington.
In response, Johnson defended his position. He explained that he had been in contact with Musk and other influential figures, including businessman Vivek Ramaswamy. “I was communicating with Elon last night. Elon, Vivek, and I are on a text chain together, and I was explaining to them the background of this,” Johnson said. “Vivek and I talked last night about almost midnight, and he said, ‘Look, I get it. We understand you’re in an impossible position. Everybody knows that.’”
Johnson also pointed out that the Republican Party had a slim majority, meaning any bill would require Democrat votes to pass. “We still have just a razor-thin margin of Republicans,” Johnson explained. “So any bill has to have Democrat votes. They understand the situation. They said it’s not directed at you, Mr. Speaker, but we don’t like the spending. And I said, guess what, fellows? I don’t either.”
Despite this explanation, Doocy continued to push, suggesting that Musk’s disapproval could have serious consequences. “But you know, Elon Musk is a very powerful man. Is he wrong to think this bill should be stopped?”
Johnson responded by focusing on the need to get the bill passed, explaining that it was essential to avoid a government shutdown and provide emergency relief. But Doocy appeared to think that Musk’s opinion was a force that could not be ignored. The implication was clear: If Musk opposed the bill, that might be more significant than the objections of lawmakers like Johnson’s fellow Republicans.
Johnson emphasized that the bill was a short-term fix, meant to prevent a government shutdown, and that real changes could be made once Republicans have more control over spending in the new Congress.
“We got to get this done because here’s the key — By doing this, we are clearing the decks and we are setting up for Trump to come in, roaring back with the America First agenda. That’s what we’re going to run with gusto beginning January 3rd, when we start the new Congress, when Republicans again rent control and all of our fiscal conservative friends, I’m one of them, will be able to finally do the things that we have been wanting to do for the last couple of years.” Johnson explained.
“Right now, Democrats still control the fence, and that’s the problem. So we’ve got to get this thing done so we don’t have the shutdown. So we get the short term funding measure and we get to march where we can put our fingerprints on the spending. That’s when the big changes start and we can’t wait to get there,” he concluded.
