A Republican senator shrugged off Elon Musk’s involvement in American politics Monday, claiming the pressure the world’s richest man is openly putting on elected representatives is “nothing new.”
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) was speaking days after Musk effectively killed a spending bill by tweeting that Republicans who supported it should lose their seats.
“I know that some people out there are saying, ‘Well, he's putting pressure on everybody.’” Rounds told Politico.
“That's nothing new. We get that kind of pressure on a regular basis.”
The spending bill went down in flames last week after Musk’s messages were sent to his 200 million followers on the X platform that he owns.
“Well, look, I mean, it's pressure,” Rounds said. “But, you know, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”
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Musk, Donald Trump’s biggest donor during the election campaign, has found himself in an ill-defined role at the president-elect’s shoulder, speaking about Cabinet picks and even meeting with foreign leaders.
“He's not accountable to us,” said Rounds. “[I] would assume that he is accountable to the president because the president is the one who is allowing him to advise him. The president is listening to what he has to say, but he's accountable to the president.”