‘What We Are Looking at Here Is Oligarchy’: Sanders Denounces Musk’s Role in Budget Talks
Billionaire used social media and disinformation to push for a federal shutdown
The influence of the unelected ultra-wealthy businessman in the work of Congress this week to approve a spending bill and avoid a shutdown of the federal government is ushering in an era of “government by the billionaire class, for the billionaire class.”
That’s according to Sen Bernie Sanders, the prominent progressive independent from Vermont.
Musk, who has become nearly inseparable with Donald Trump, used his outsize platform on social media to try to kill bipartisan legislation to keep the government funded and open.
The owner of the social media site formerly known as Twitter, the Tesla car manufacturer and SpaceX, Musk has been injecting himself more and more into government since he spent nearly $300 million to get Trump elected in last month’s election.
That influence reached new levels as Musk pushed lawmakers to kill a carefully crafted budget bill that had support from Democrats and Republicans.
“In fact, Republicans posted it on their website. We were ready to go,” Sanders said in a video released by his Senate office. “But then, out of nowhere, the wealthiest man in the world — Elon Musk — began tweeting his opposition to this legislation. In fact, he was very blunt about it.
“He told Republicans that if they voted for this proposal — which they had already agreed to do — he would take out his wallet and spend as much money as it took to defeat them in primaries and drive them out of office,” he added.
With his megaphone of his own social media site, Musk spread “an enormous amount of disinformation and outright lies” about the spending bill, Sanders said.
For instance, Musk falsely claimed that lawmakers were approving for themselves a 40-percent pay raise, the senator said, adding that increase truly was just 3.9 percent — the same as federal employees.
Musk also false claimed that the spending bill would fund bioweapons laboratories.
“Not true,” Sanders said. “In fact, it provides funds to protect Americans from emerging infectious diseases.”
In the end, Musk’s efforts failed and Congress approved a spending bill at the last minute, avoiding a shutdown.
But Sanders explained what Musk’s efforts mean going forward.
“My friends, what we are looking at here has nothing to do with democracy,” he said. “What we are looking at here is oligarchy. This is up-and-up government by the billionaire class, for the billionaire class.”
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