Using the power of the social media platform he owns and the threat to spend millions against Republicans in primaries, Elon Musk effectively pushed through a congressional spending bill that would have kept the government running.

The world’s richest man once again flexed the muscles he gained in the 2024 election, when he spent heavily to support the election of Donald Trump and spread right-wing rumors about X. It reinforces false claims about what’s inside and ruins its fate.

“‘Shutting down’ the government (which, by the way, doesn’t actually close critical functions) is infinitely better than passing a terrible bill,” Musk wrote in a post.

He and the account for the “Department of Government Efficiency,” or Doge, a government agency that Trump said he would create, claimed that the bill would significantly increase salaries for members of Congress — but that was not the case. He claimed that this included funding for bioweapons – but that is not the case. He incorrectly announced that this would provide billions for a stadium in DC. He offensively used the word “retarded” to joke about language changes in the bill, then continued to joke about the use of the word.

Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance opposed the bill and released a statement about it, but did not comment nearly as publicly as Musk. A source close to the president-elect told Axios that Musk doesn’t overshadow the president, saying, “There are things that Elon doesn’t agree with us on and that he doesn’t understand.”

Musk urged people to contact their lawmakers to kill the bill. And when the bill was effectively killed, he claimed victory was the voice of the people: “America is for you, the beloved people.”

Musk has no formal role in the second Trump administration beyond being tapped to lead an outside group, but he showed this week the extreme influence he has on the party – and on the incoming presidency.

The ordeal is a sign of what lies ahead for Musk in his influential role, with a social media platform he can use to push back against those with whom he disagrees. His tweets receive millions of impressions and signal to the right-wing online ecosystem what lines of attack there will be.

He suggested that this was just the beginning and said that no law should be passed until Trump takes office. He also promised that his group has “no choice” but to take action against officials because “if @DOGE does not end the careers of fraudulent politicians, waste and corruption will never end.”

Most Republicans in Congress cheered him on. Rand Paul, the senator from Texas, suggested Thursday morning that Musk should become speaker of the House of Representatives, pointing out that the speaker does not have to be a member of Congress, as is traditionally the case.

“Nothing would upset the swamp more than electing Elon Musk… think about it… nothing is impossible.” (not to mention the joy of seeing the collective establishment aka “one-party” do its all lost his beloved mind),” wrote Paul on X.

According to Axios, Democrats called Musk the president, co-president and fourth branch of government and said he has shown he is more powerful than Trump. Mark Pocan, a Democratic representative from Wisconsin, created AI images of Musk controlling Trump, including one showing Musk being sworn in by the new president. “We just returned from the future and got this photo from the inauguration,” Pocan wrote.

One misinformation Musk spread about the bill is that it would have given lawmakers a staggering 40% pay raise, increasing their salary from $174,000 to $243,000. That’s not true – it includes a cost of living increase of 3.8%, or $6,600. The Doge tweet claiming the massive increase has not been corrected.

Dan Crenshaw, a Republican congressman from Texas, got caught up in the pay raise rumor mill. Some reports claimed he was the one who pushed for the raise, which Crenshaw said was false. He responded to these reports by calling one a “fucking lying piece of shit” and a “fucking incel” and another an “anonymous coward” who was “talking shit without evidence.”

Musk responded to the claims about Crenshaw’s involvement by saying, “Congress should only get a raise if the budget is balanced.”

Crenshaw then addressed Musk, saying, “I love you, Elon, but you need to take five seconds to check your sources before highlighting the bottom feeders in search of clicks.”