After the tech billionaire called for the backers of that bipartisan bill to be voted out in two years, some GOP members dismissed Musk’s tirade as simply part of the “game” of Washington politics.
But even those who seem unfazed by threats suggest some colleagues could have good reason to worry given Musk’s immense wealth, ties to President-elect Trump and growing influence in Congress.
“I’ve been primaried four times, and I‘m more of a rebellious guy. If you threaten me, I dig my heels in and I don’t respond well to threats,” one GOP lawmaker said of Musk’s primary threats.
“All those social influencers out there were against me in the last primary, with a million followers and I didn’t back down an edge,” the lawmaker added, granted anonymity to speak candidly.
The lawmaker was one of the House Republicans to defend the original funding bill, which Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) rolled out Tuesday night to avert a shutdown.
The bill was quickly lambasted by conservative spending hawks, including Musk, who posted online dozens of times Wednesday calling for members to reject the more-than-1,500-page measure, describing it as a big “piece of pork.”
Musk, the co-leader of Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) panel focused on slashing government spending, said any lawmaker who supported the bill should be voted out of office in 2026.
Trump used the same tactic Thursday, when he encouraged Republicans in Texas to consider a primary challenge to Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) for going against the president-elect's push to raise the debt ceiling.
When asked about Musk’s threats, Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) pointed to his experience as a retired Navy SEAL senior chief, quipping, there is “not a whole lot of stuff I’m afraid of.”
“I work for the people in the 3rd Congressional District in the state of Wisconsin,” he repeated to The Hill twice.
Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) cited his past primary wins as a reason to not fear Musk, or any other primary threats.
“I don’t worry about it because I’ve already had, I’ve already been primaried, and it didn’t work out so well. I will do what’s right and that’s all I can do,” McCormick said.
McCormick, who was among the 38 Republicans to vote against the clean continuing resolution, later acknowledged Musk’s current sway with some House members, while signaling he will not cave to pressure.
“Last time I checked, Elon Musk doesn’t have a vote in Congress. Now, he has influence, and he’ll put pressure on us to do whatever he thinks is right for him, but I have 760,000 people who voted for people to do the right thing for them,” he told CNN on Thursday.
Read more in a full report Sunday morning at TheHill.com.
