Jen Psaki: Elon Musk flexed his power on Capitol Hill this week

The power of Musk

Despite what Donald Trump and JD Vance may say, the chaos on Capitol Hill this week can be traced back to one man: Elon Musk.

House Speaker Mike Johnson had negotiated a deal with Democrats that was by all accounts a typically larded-up 1,500-page behemoth of a funding bill.

But despite the bill’s imperfections, there was an agreement that seemed to have wrapped up all the loose ends for the year. Members of Congress and their staffs were packing their bags and getting their last-minute Christmas shopping done in Washington.

Then Musk stepped in.

With over 100 posts on his own platform X — including the 1:32 p.m. declaration, “THIS CRIMINAL BILL MUST NOT PASS” and another threatening, “Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” — Musk managed to blow up months of negotiation, leaving Johnson scrambling.

Given that he doesn’t seem to know that only 19 Republican senators are up for re-election in 2026, I am a bit skeptical that Musk knows exactly how a bill becomes a law. This summary from Johnson made it sound a lot like he had to explain how the process of getting approval for spending typically works. And there is a real question whether Musk would follow through with his threat to fund primary opponents against anyone who opposes Trump’s agenda.

But what this week made clear is that Musk has more power than the speaker of the House, who is second in line to the presidency. And maybe even the vice president-elect. I mean, where is Vance these days anyway?

Further confirmation of Johnson’s weakness came when Trump was asked about his confidence in him, Trump responded: “We’ll see. What they had yesterday was unacceptable … It’s a Democrat trap.” If this week made one thing clear, Musk’s X account is going to make for a heck of a ride in Washington come January.

A story you should be following: Democrats pass over AOC for oversight role

This week, House Democrats voted 131-84 to name Rep. Gerry Connolly, 74, ranking member of the House Oversight Committee over Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. While Connolly, an eight-term Democrat, brings a wealth of experience to the role, this vote feels like a major missed opportunity to place a highly influential communicator as ranking member of one of the few House committees that garner national attention.

According to The New York Times, Connolly benefited from strong behind-the-scenes support from Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. The result wasn’t particularly close, even as Democrats embraced generational change in other key leadership roles this week.

The good news is that Ocasio-Cortez will undoubtedly remain at the forefront of the Democratic Party’s messaging. But Democrats will need to fire on all cylinders if they hope to garner national attention for important Oversight Committee debates following Rep. Jamie Raskin’s departure from the role.

Another story you should be following: Trailing Supreme Court candidate asks same court to throw out 60,000 ballots

Atop the growing list of shockingly anti-democratic moves from North Carolina Republicans, this week, Republican state Supreme Court candidate Jefferson Griffin asked North Carolina’s Supreme Court to throw out 60,000 ballots from last month’s election.

Griffin, who trails Democratic Justice Allison Riggs by just 734 votes, claims these ballots are invalid because some voters lacked a driver’s license or Social Security number on file, and others living abroad did not include photo ID with their ballots.

All three of these challenges were rejected last week by North Carolina’s Democrat-controlled state elections board. However, with North Carolina’s Supreme Court holding a 5-2 Republican majority, Griffin is banking on a more favorable ruling.

This isn’t the GOP’s first attempt to undermine voters in North Carolina. In October, Republicans tried — and failed — to remove 225,000 voters from the rolls just weeks before Election Day. That effort was dismissed by a federal judge, but the state Supreme Court could still take a different approach.

Some good news: Biden appoints 233 federal judges 

As his term nears its end, President Joe Biden is cementing a historic judicial legacy, appointing a total of 233 judges as of this week, including more judges of color than any president before him. On Monday, Tiffany Johnson became the 40th Black woman confirmed to a lifetime federal judgeship under Biden — more than any president in a single term. Overall, 60% of his appointees are people of color, part of his goal of reshaping the judiciary to better reflect America.

Biden’s appointments include Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, and record numbers of former public defenders and civil rights lawyers. With Senate Democrats racing to confirm more nominees before Republicans gain Senate control, these nominees will no doubt shape the judiciary for decades to come.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com

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