Musk's primary threats pose danger for Republicans
Musk vowed earlier this week that Republicans who supported Trump's megabill 'will lose their primary next year if it is the last thing I do on this Earth' as the Tesla CEO has reignited his feud with Trump in recent days.
Republicans see the comments as unhelpful, with some saying if the threats come to fruition, it could risk diverting resources away in an election environment that historically hasn't been kind to the president's party in power.
'One of the most destructive behaviors that we've had in cycles where we've been unsuccessful in Senate races … are those in which we have expended massive resources in intraparty warfare,' said one Republican consultant who's worked on Senate races.
Ever since Musk ended his stint at the White House, the billionaire has been a vocal critic of Trump's major policy bill, taking particular issue with the projected trillions of dollars multiple analyses say will add to the deficit.
The House narrowly passed the final version of the bill on Thursday, and Trump signed it Friday evening at a White House Fourth of July event.
But Musk's frustrations reached a new point on Monday when he said he would back challengers to Republicans who supported Trump's agenda-setting legislation, while saying he would also look to protect Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a prominent opponent of the bill who has drawn Trump's ire.
The Tesla CEO also suggested it was time for a new political party.
'It is obvious with the insane spending of this bill, which increases the debt ceiling by a record FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS that we live in a one-party country — the PORKY PIG PARTY!! Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people,' he said on the social platform X, which he owns.
Some lawmakers have sought to brush off Musk's threat.
'I'll take President Trump's endorsement over Elon's any day of the week, back home,' Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) said in an interview with Just the News's Nicholas Ballasy regarding the potential primary challenge.
Marshall said his Republican colleagues were 'ignoring' Musk.
Trump, meanwhile, left the door open this week to deporting Musk, who was born in South Africa and became a naturalized U.S. citizen. He also suggested Musk's advisory Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) could be turned against the billionaire and his companies.
'I think what's going to happen is DOGE is going to look at Musk. And if DOGE looks at Musk, we're going to save a fortune,' Trump said while in Florida on Tuesday. 'I don't think he should be playing that game with me.'
The White House and a representative for Musk did not respond to requests for comment for this story.
Some Republicans expressed skepticism that Musk would actually follow through in launching primary challenges against GOP incumbents, while others didn't view the billionaire's remarks as an immediate threat.
'I think the president is much more popular with the base right now than Elon Musk, and I think our elected representatives are also more popular,' said Mark Jefferson, a former executive director for the Wisconsin GOP.
'I don't take the threat all that seriously, because how do you primary hundreds of people?' asked Georgia-based Republican consultant Brian Robinson.
Unlike Musk, Trump has a history of trying to oust Republicans with whom he's been at odds, with varying degrees of success. And Trump's allies have already signaled this cycle they're not afraid to go after holdouts and members of the party they see as stymieing the president and his agenda. A pro-Trump super PAC has already been created with the goal of 'firing' Massie.
'Unless and until Musk can start lining up some A-team candidates or credible people or people in the same wing of the party, he's going nowhere,' said top GOP donor Eric Levine, who described Massie as 'fringe.'
Other Republicans suggest it may not be long before Trump and Musk are back on good terms again.
While it's too soon to say how serious Musk might be about his primary threats, the moves would be an unnecessary obstacle for the party.
'I hope that he doesn't, obviously, because I think that primary fights normally don't do anything but strengthen the opposition,' said longtime GOP donor Bill Bean.
Bean acknowledged that Musk 'has a point' about the GOP legislation raising the deficit, but he also voiced concern that Musk's primary challenges against members of Congress could force Republicans to divert resources from areas where the party might not otherwise have been concerned.
'I think that his money would be much better spent instead of primarying conservative Republicans who maybe aren't 100 percent as conservative or 100 percent agree with him to go out and win elections in swing districts,' Bean said.
'I guarantee you, if we had a 30-seat majority in the House and a 12-seat majority in the Senate, the bill right now going through would be a lot closer to what he would like to see,' he added.
Musk's remarks represent a noteworthy shift from just months ago, when he was considered one of Trump's biggest allies.
His America PAC spent tens of millions of dollars alone supporting the president during the 2024 election, and he was a critical donor for Wisconsin Republicans earlier this year as they looked to narrow the spending gap against Democrats in the high-stakes state Supreme Court race.
Even while Musk has opened up old wounds with Trump over Republicans' major policy bill, it hasn't stopped him from offering some praise for the president. He lauded the president last week over his handling of foreign affairs, writing Wednesday in a post on X: 'Credit where credit is due. @realDonaldTrump has successfully resolved several serious conflicts around the world.'
Meanwhile, some Republicans have a warning for Musk, should he follow through on his threats.
'Musk is deeply hated among Democrats. For now, he maintains good standing among Republicans, but if he follows through, he will lose them as well and be a man without a country,' said Michigan-based GOP strategist Jason Cabel Roe in an email to The Hill. 'That will sabotage any political or business initiatives he's involved in.'
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