Musk railed against a congressional spending bill. Much of what he spread was misinformation

Story by Melissa Goldin. December 21, 2024.

  • Elon Musk’s Influence: Musk played a significant role in opposing a bipartisan funding proposal, using his platform to spread misinformation and sway Congress.
  • Misinformation: Musk’s claims about congressional salaries, stadium funding, and bioweapon labs were false, leading to public confusion.
  • Congressional Response: Some members of Congress criticized Musk for spreading misinformation, urging him to verify his sources.
  • Legislative Outcome: The House rejected a Trump-backed bill, but eventually approved a third spending deal, which President Biden planned to sign into law.

President-elect Donald Trump’s billionaire ally Elon Musk played a key role this week in killing a bipartisan funding proposal that would have prevented a government shutdown, railing against the plan in a torrent of more than 100 X posts that included multiple false claims.

The X owner, an unelected figure, not only used his outsize influence on the platform to help sway Congress, he did so while spreading misinformation and gave a preview of the role he could play in government over the next four years.

“Trump has got himself a handful with Musk.Trump’s done this kind of thing before, blowing up a bill at the last minute. This time, though, it looks like he was afraid of Musk upstaging him. Now there’s a new social media bully in town, pushing the champion social media bully around. We’ll see what Musk’s influence is when he runs up against reality — like when he proposes cutting off ‘wasteful’ spending for other people but not NASA contracts for Space-X.” – John Mark Hansen, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, said in an email. “

Musk’s objections to the 1,547-page omnibus bill included

Misinformation:

  • congressional salaries
  • federal funding
  • public health preparedness
  • $3 billion in funding for a potential new stadium for the NFL’s Washington Commanders
  • funding bioweapon labs in this bill!”

Reality:

  • cost of living adjustment for Congress. Most members make $174,000 per a year after their last increase of 2.8% in 2009). Congressional leadership is the exception, with the Speaker of the House earning the most, at $223,500 annually. The rejected bill struck a section from a previous appropriations act that denied members of Congress this automatic pay raise. A maximum increase of 3.8% would have bumped their annual salary by about $6,600, to approximately $180,000 annually.
  • transfer control of the land that houses RFK Stadium from the federal government to the District of Columbia. That transfer is necessary to pave the way for the Commanders to possibly build a new stadium in the franchise’s old home — though the team is still considering other locations.
  • funds for up to 12 regional biocontainment research laboratories, not facilities for creating bioweapons. It stipulates that among their uses, the labs will conduct biomedical research to prepare for biological agents such as emerging infectious diseases.

However, no such funding is provided by the bill. It states, in fact, that the federal government “shall not be responsible for payment or any costs or expenses” that the District of Columbia incurs after the transfer is complete aside from responsibilities related to specific environmental issues. “It was stated that the C.R. contains $3 billion for a stadium. All wrong. There are no federal dollars related to the transfer of RFK and in fact, the legislation does not require or link at all to a stadium.” – District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser addressed false claims about the stadium’s funding on Thursday, calling them “frustrating.”

Some members of Congress expressed dismay that Musk had disseminated misinformation about the bill.

“I love you, Elon, but you need to take 5 seconds to check your sources before highlighting bottom feeders looking for clicks.” Rep. Dan Crenshaw (T-TX) wrote on X/Twitter.

In a hastily convened Thursday evening vote, the House rejected a new Trump-backed bill whittled down to 116 pages, with the bill failing 174-235. Dozens of Republicans joined Democrats in opposition.

The House finally approved a third spending deal Friday evening, and the Senate followed suit early Saturday. President Biden planned to sign it into law later Saturday.

Trump led Republicans into the longest government shutdown in history in his first term during the 2018 Christmas season and interrupted the holidays in 2020 by tanking a bipartisan COVID-relief bill and forcing a do-over.