Even though Elon Musk has never held any sort of political position and didn’t support President-elect Donald Trump publicly until July, he was still tapped by to be a part of Trump’s Cabinet. Musk was labeled co-chair of a group called the “Department of Government Efficiency” alongside Vivek Ramaswamy.
However, outlets like The Washington Post and The Hill have dubbed Musk as Trump’s “Co-President” while politicians like Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said he is “basically the fourth branch of the government.”
Musk, who is the world’s richest man, has made it clear that he is looking out for interests of the rich. He will be instrumental in helping Trump execute his plans once he’s officially back in office—which will undoubtedly harm Black communities.
From abolishing diversity, equity and inclusion to dismantling the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Black people face a dangerous reality under Trump’s second term. Here are five reasons Musk has been labeled “Co-President”—much to the detriment of Black America.
1) Elon Musk is wielding his power on X to influence Republicans on legislation
On Wednesday (Dec. 18), Musk used his X account (which boasts over 200 million followers) to encourage House Republicans to stop a spending bill that would have kept the federal government afloat for three months. “This bill should not pass,” the Tesla and SpaceX CEO stated. He also posted multiple false claims about the bill, stating that the legislation would give members of Congress a 40 percent raise.
However, the maximum possible raise in 2025 would have been 3.8 percent under the legislation. According to the Washington Post, lawmakers were contacted by constituents who said they saw Musk’s post. Hours later, Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance shared their lack of support for the bill and House Republicans decided not to pass it.
2) He helped Trump select his Cabinet picks
Musk used X to not only express support for some of Trump’s Cabinet picks, but he also used it to share some of his own suggestions per Reuters. According to the news outlet, Musk posted or reposted about Trump’s cabinet picks more than 70 times between Nov. 7 and Nov. 20. In many instances, he gave attention to Trump’s more controversial decisions like Tulsi Gabbard being selected for U.S. intelligence chief and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leading the top U.S. health agency.
3) Musk has given hundreds of millions of dollars to Republicans
After Trump won the presidential election in November, Musk became America’s largest political donor. He donated $277 million to back Donald Trump as well as other Republicans, per CBS News. Watchdog groups are worried that this has increased Musk’s access to Trump and will influence the Republican party agenda as Musk is currently the focus of several government investigations.
4) Notable Republican figures are standing behind Musk
According to the Washington Post, Rep. Michael Lawler (R-New York) said that Musk being a part of Trump’s Cabinet is fine as long as the transparency of his actions were “accurate.” Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida) called Musk “a member of the public that has a voice” and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) said that she would be open to supporting Musk leading the House.
5) Democrats are warning the public about Musk’s power and influence
The Democratic Party is up in arms over Musk’s influence on Republicans—and have expressed their outrage on X. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-California) shared an AI-generated image that showed Musk handling Trump’s puppet strings. Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla) stated that “an unelected billionaire was crowned co-president by the Republican Party.” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) insisted that Trump has a “Billionaire First” agenda.