Texas Republican Representative Tony Gonzales was criticized after remarking on Face the Nation how "it feels like" billionaire Elon Musk "is our prime minister" despite Musk not being elected to the position.
Gonzalez's words came after President-elect Donald Trump rejected claims that Musk is overshadowing him following backlash over Musk's role in blocking the emergency spending measure to prevent a government shutdown.
After a period of uncertainty, Congress passed a measure to fund the government through mid-March, which President Biden signed on Saturday, avoiding a shutdown. However, the resolution followed several failed attempts to secure government funding that would not have happened had Musk not inserted himself into the proceedings.
But even though Musk shouldn't have this much power, Gonzales certainly seemed to be okay with it after host Margaret Brennan asked him the following:
"I want to ask you about the dynamic here because it's confusing, honestly. Elon Musk is tweeting against bipartisan deals negotiated and led by the Speaker of the House. What role exactly is he playing here?"
Gonzales replied:
"It's kind of interesting, we have a president, we have a vice president, we have a speaker. It feels like, as if, Elon Musk is our prime minister."
When Brennan interjected that Musk is an "unelected" figure when Gonzales said he "spoke with Elon a couple of times this week," Gonzales responded with an attack on Democrats:
"Unelected but he has a voice and I think a large part of that voice is a reflection of the voice of the people. Once again, a 1,500-page bill: how does that pass the smell test? It's absolutely wrong, it's what's wrong with this place and we have to get back to regular order."
"The other part of it too is that while House Republicans were fighting over the spending bill, guess what Democrats were doing? They were ensuring that President Biden got his 235th liberal judge over the finish line. That's why House Republicans have to stay united, laser focus on delivering on a President Trump agenda next year."
When asked if he supports Speaker Mike Johnson despite the funding bill's collapse on Johnson's watch, he said he does, adding:
"He's done a fantastic job keeping us together. It's like feral cats in the House and that's a tough job to begin with. But the fact he was able to work with President Trump to whittle [the bill] down to a little over 100 pages, the fact he was able to work with Elon Musk and other folks, other members to find a solution just goes to prove that he's found a way."
"But also this can't be the norm. That's the reason why I voted against [the spending bill] and get back to regular order."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Gonzales was swiftly criticized for his remarks.
Amid the backlash, Trump dismissed the idea that he had “ceded the presidency” to Musk. He added that even if Musk aspired to the role, he wouldn’t qualify due to the Constitution’s stipulation that the U.S. president must be a natural-born citizen—a requirement Musk, born in South Africa, does not meet.
Democrats have continued to voice concerns about Musk’s growing influence over congressional Republicans. However, Republicans have worked to minimize the appearance of any discord between the two figures.
Meanwhile, the spending legislation and the resulting chaos in the House sparked criticism of Johnson’s leadership. At least one Republican, Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, announced he would not support Johnson for speaker in the next Congress.
This fueled speculation about Johnson's ability to maintain the support needed to keep his position, a situation that could leave House leadership up in the air much like last year's multi-vote, multi-day debacle.
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