Elon Musk Says Kevin McCarthy Should Be House Speaker

Twitter CEO Elon Musk is throwing his assist behind the foundering ship that’s Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s bid for House Speaker. The two have been pleasant for years: Musk has donated to McCarthy’s marketing campaign 5 instances and attended the California Republican’s donors’ retreat final yr as McCarthy’s private visitor. McCarthy has known as Musk the “Thomas Edison of our time” and run political interference on his behalf.

Musk tweeted out his assist for McCarthy on Thursday morning, hours earlier than the House of Representatives was set to reconvene to attempt to elect a Speaker for a seventh time.

“Kevin McCarthy should be Speaker,” Musk mentioned through his social community.

Musk’s assist of McCarthy, who has already misplaced six consecutive votes to develop into Speaker this week, aligns with the billionaire’s pivot to the political proper in latest months. Most just lately, Musk really useful that individuals vote Republican within the midterms.

Although the Tesla CEO isn’t an enormous political donor, he has made donations to McCarthy’s campaigns a minimum of 5 instances, in response to Federal Election Commission data, albeit in small quantities not more than $2,700. In August of final yr, Musk attended McCarthy’s annual donor retreat in Wyoming because the Republican’s private visitor. At the occasion, McCarthy launched Musk because the “Thomas Edison of our time,” Axios reported.

It’s not clear whether or not Musk’s assist McCarthy will do any good. The California Republican is coping with 20 hard-right defectors who refuse to vote for him. Even McCarthy’s endorsement from former President Donald Trump has did not sway the hardliners, so it’s arduous to consider that Musk’s seal of approval can be any completely different. The House is scheduled to reconvene at midday ET.

The House Republican additionally spoke up on behalf of Musk in November, telling reporters that the White House ought to “stop picking on Elon Musk” after White House officers mentioned they have been “keeping an eye on” Musk’s reforms at Twitter.

“That is offensive to me. Government’s going to go after someone that wants to have free speech. What do they have to look at Twitter about?” McCarthy mentioned on Nov. 29. “I think the American public have spoken on this. I think our First Amendment stands up and I think they should stop picking on Elon Musk.”

McCarthy’s reward and protection of Musk stands in stark distinction to President Joe Biden’s administration, which Musks feels has snubbed him by ignoring Tesla. Biden has repeatedly praised automakers like Ford and GM for his or her innovation in electrical automobiles since taking workplace, however he hasn’t talked about Tesla.