House Republicans blame Elon Musk for their struggles in special elections: 'He needs to exit'

House Republicans blamed Elon Musk's budget cuts under President Trump for their special election struggles, saying they alienated voters
UPDATED APR 2, 2025
House Republicans blamed Elon Musk for their special election struggles as voters prepared to head to the polls on Tuesday (Getty Images)
House Republicans blamed Elon Musk for their special election struggles as voters prepared to head to the polls on Tuesday (Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC: House Republicans are holding tech billionaire Elon Musk​ responsible for their struggles in the special elections, Jonathan Martin of Politico argued in a column published on Tuesday, April 1, reported Mediaite.

The Tesla CEO has been facing increasing public backlash over his work as the Department of Government Efficiency chair within President Donald Trump's administration.

Set up by an executive order to oversee excess federal spending, Musk has used a chainsaw approach to cut funding across various departments and put thousands of government workers out of employment.

The situation for elected officials has become so dire that a GOP Congress member told Martin that they were hoping for their party to struggle in key races in Wisconsin and Florida on April 1 so that the leadership would separate itself from Musk.

White House Senior Advisor to the President, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk cheers as U.S. President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 04, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump was expected to address Congress on his early achievements of his presidency and his upcoming legislative agenda. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
White House Senior Advisor to the President, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk cheers as US President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol on March 04, 2025, in Washington, DC (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

GOP lawmakers' stance on Elon Musk

In his column, Martin argues that the Republican lawmakers at the Capitol Hill as well as the states are being forced to obey every whim of the POTUS at present, that includes "pushing inflation-spiking tariffs."

However, they believe "Musk has turbocharged the backlash to Trump and accelerated the revival of demoralized Democrats and independents appalled by the billionaire’s cavalier attempt to slash the federal government."

If they don't push for the White House to cut ties with Musk, elected GOP representatives fear a replay of 2017 and 2018, when Democrats gained popularity amid Trump's first term.

CEO of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk leaves the stage holding a chainsaw after speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on February 20, 2025 in Oxon Hill, Maryland. The annual four-day gathering brings together conservative U.S. lawmakers, international leaders, media personalities and businessmen to discuss and champion conservative ideas. Argentinian President Javier Milei gifted Musk a chainsaw that he used as a prop while campaigning. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
CEO of Tesla and SpaceX Elon Musk leaves the stage holding a chainsaw after speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel And Convention Center on February 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Maryland (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

An unnamed House Republican alluded to his colleagues in telling Martin of Tuesday's special election, "There will be 26 or so people watching Tuesday, and they’ll decide how they want to be part of the team going forward."

They claimed that these lawmakers understand the political damage Musk is doing to the GOP by putting "wrong" information about government spending on the internet, which in turn gets picked up and propagated by the MAGA base and news outlets, "angering different blocs of voters."

A second House Republican believed that it was time for the White House to cordially part ways with the billionaire, claiming victory for its initial approach.

“Elon’s work needs to wrap up, and he needs to exit stage left,” they stated.

 Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), delivers remarks during a Cabinet meeting held by U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on February 26, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump is holding the first Cabinet meeting of his second term. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), delivers remarks during a Cabinet meeting held by US President Donald Trump at the White House on February 26, 2025, in Washington, DC (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Internet trolls Republican leaders for initially backing Elon Musk

Netizens reacting to the news on the Mediaite website slammed GOP lawmakers and Trump for allowing Elon Musk to influence the functioning of the federal government. The following examples demonstrate their takes.

"Magas always blame someone else. Trump turned our government over to Elon. Everything horrible going on is Trump's fault," wrote a person.

"It's not Musk’s fault republicans didn't use their power to stop him," shared another.

"Elon Musk is America’s favorite welfare queen," jibed a third.

"Musk is only able to do what he is doing because of Trump and Republicans! They want him to destroy the Fed government and said so many times. Now that the effects are hurting their own voters, businesses and states they want to blame Musk," echoed a fourth.

"I think the Republicans should be forced to carry Elon to full term," chided a fifth.

"It's Trump's party now and Republicans helped build that," mocked another.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.

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