Elon Musk, the billionaire tech entrepreneur, followed President-elect Donald Trump’s strong endorsement of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., by offering his own “full support” on social media just hours later. Musk’s post came shortly after Trump gave Johnson his “complete and total endorsement” on Monday, just days before the House votes to elect a new speaker. These endorsements could play a pivotal role in rallying the backing of House Republicans who have remained undecided about supporting Johnson’s reelection.
In his post on X, Musk responded to Johnson’s expression of gratitude for Trump’s endorsement, stating, “I feel the same way! You have my full support.”
Johnson’s handling of a stopgap funding bill ahead of the December 21 deadline had sparked frustration among many House Republicans and angered conservative members. The House required three attempts to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government through March 14, and even the final version failed to satisfy conservative lawmakers, who criticized the proposed spending levels.
Some Republicans, such as Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie, have pledged to vote against Johnson, and many others remain undecided as they approach Friday’s vote. Given his slim 219-215 majority, Johnson cannot afford to lose any more support.
During the stopgap funding negotiations, Trump appeared to distance himself from Johnson, especially as the speaker worked alongside Democrats to secure enough votes to keep the government running. Musk was one of the first to criticize Johnson’s approach to the resolution, condemning the speaker for agreeing to additional spending that Democrats had requested.
The final version of the bill also failed to include a debt ceiling increase that Trump had pushed for. However, Trump appeared to move past these issues when he posted on Truth Social on Monday morning, writing, “Speaker Mike Johnson is a good, hard working, religious man. He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement. MAGA!!!”
{Matzav.com}
