This week, Tesla and SpaceX owner Elon Musk, a billionaire and friend of soon-to-be President Donald Trump, made waves by trying to stop a bill in Congress that could prevent a government shutdown. He posted over 100 messages on X (formerly Twitter) and shared many false claims about the bill. Political expert John Mark Hansen from the University of Chicago commented that Musk is now a big player in politics, possibly overshadowing Trump.
Musk opposed a large spending bill that was over 1,500 pages long. He falsely claimed that it would give Congress members a 40% salary increase. In reality, the most anyone could get would be a 3.8% raise, which means around $6,600 more. Most Congress members earn $174,000 a year, while the House Speaker makes $223,500.
Musk also shared a false claim that the bill included $3 billion to build a new stadium for the Washington Commanders NFL team. The bill actually just allowed the land where RFK Stadium is located to be controlled by Washington, D.C. taxpayers. Mayor Muriel Bowser of D.C. responded, saying, “It’s all wrong—there are no federal dollars for a new stadium.”
In another misleading post, Musk insisted that the bill funded bioweapon labs. What the bill actually did was support labs for medical research on dangerous diseases, not labs to create bioweapons.
Some Congress members were not happy with Musk sharing wrong information. Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas told Musk he should check his facts before spreading claims.
Lastly, the House of Representatives voted on a new bill backed by Trump, but it was rejected 174-235, with many Republicans joining Democrats against it. Finally, Congress passed another spending deal, and President Joe Biden was set to sign it into law soon. During his first term, Trump caused the longest government shutdown ever and disrupted a COVID-19 relief plan.
Leave a Reply