Billionaire entrepreneur and Twitter CEO Elon Musk is weighing in on who he thinks Republicans should elect as the next Speaker of the House.
Kevin McCarthy should be Speaker
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 5, 2023
In August, Musk attended a political retreat hosted by McCarthy in Jackson, Wyoming and engaged in a fireside chat.
"Musk offered a robust defense of capitalism in addition to some political advice at House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's annual donor retreat in Jackson, where the billionaire CEO of Tesla was a personal guest of McCarthy’s," Axios reported at the time. "McCarthy has built a relationship with Musk over a decade and introduced him as the "Thomas Edison of our time," framing the discussion around how he built successful companies like Tesla and SpaceX."
Musk's endorsement comes as the House enters day three of negotiations and voting for who will eventually take custody of the Speaker's gavel. As of Wednesday night, McCarthy failed to obtain the necessary 218 votes on five ballots cast over the course of two days.
Overnight President Donald Trump, also a McCarthy ally, indicated progress was being made.
"Very good things are happening behind the scenes for the Republican Party. Intense but Smart negotiations between GREAT and PATRIOTIC people are ongoing. They all love our Country, and want something to go forward, ASAP. This “event” will end up making the Republican Party STRONGER and more UNITED than ever before. OUR NATION IS AT STAKE. Stay tuned and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Trump said on Truth Social.
In an effort to get McCarthy of the finish line and as Leah reported, a number of concessions have been made in favor of detractors.
Critics keeps saying that the House Freedom caucus & anti-McCarthy crowd don’t have any specific demands.
— Tim Meads (@TimMeadsUSA) January 5, 2023
It’s not true.
Here are a few requests from @chiproytx, and you’ll note he has a willingness to be flexible in his demands: pic.twitter.com/raSs7t0vhV
The House will reconvene at 12 p.m. et on Thursday.