CNN anchor Brianna Keilar hit back with straight talk as a Republican on her show began complaining about Democrats “demonizing” Elon Musk Friday.
Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA) took to the network to defend the rejection of Speaker Mike Johnson’s proposed spending bill Thursday night — a move that plunged D.C. into chaos and threatens to shut down the government days before Christmas.
Many have criticized Musk — an unelected multi-billionaire — for causing the crisis by forcing the rejection of an earlier deal with a tweet suggesting Republicans who backed it would be primaried.
Keilar asked Meuser about this — and the fact that some Republicans, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, have suggested Musk replace Johnson as speaker of the House.
The congressman rejected the idea, but followed with a defense of the world’s richest man’s position at Trump’s shoulder.
“It probably is a shot over the bow,” he said of the speaker talk. “But it may be a shot over the bow of the Democrats, who seem to be demonizing Elon Musk for the work he's doing, for the advice he's giving the president. And that's all it is. He's an adviser.
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“And the fact that he's pulling the curtain back on some of this, frankly, garbage that is in these bills, pork barrel, whatever you want to call it.”
Keilar immediately called him out.
“When was the last time you saw a presidential adviser, or the adviser to an incoming president, scuttle an entire bill before Congress?”
Meuser responded, “You know, Brianna, it wasn't scuttled that way. I started reading it on Tuesday evening. I didn't like what I saw. I began continuing reading it Wednesday morning. Every time I turned a page, the uglier it got. And I was close to a no before Elon Musk put anything out.
“He was probably doing the same. He and his team going through it and saying, my goodness, where did all this come from? This is not what we expected.”
He concluded, “You know, Elon Musk, first of all, is his own person, but he is head of DOGE. So I’m sure the president was aware of what he planned to do.”
Watch the video below or at this link.