In Great Britain Lord Johnson, the co-leader of the Conservative Party, accused Elon Musk of trying to "buy" "Reform the UK" after reports that the tech tycoon plans to give Nigel Farage's party $100 million, Sky News reported, quoted by BTA.
In a recording of a video call with Tory campaigners heard by "Sky News", Lord Johnson said it was "extremely unusual" that Musk, the owner of "X" and "Tesla" and the richest man in the world, "virtually buying one of the political parties on the Island". He points out that Nigel Farage, the reform leader, should be "frankly worried about this" because he risks becoming a "puppet of a foreign politician" if he accepts any donations from Musk.
Lord Johnson's comments coincide with Conservative leader Cammy Badenoch's trip to the US, where she hopes to build ties with the Republican Party ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration. The Tory leader will hold meetings with Republicans on Capitol Hill, but it is unclear whether he will meet with President-elect Trump or his top advisers.
Information on Musk's potential donation to "Reform UK" first appeared in the "Times" newspaper. The newspaper said that if Musk decided to make the donation, he would do so through the British arm of his social media firm X, formerly Twitter, to circumvent UK rules that prohibit foreign donations to a political party. Farage rejected suggestions he had discussed such a deal with Musk.
Meanwhile, billionaire entrepreneur and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy met today with congressional Republicans, whose support they will need to enact sweeping spending cuts that President-elect Donald Trump has asked them to implement, reports Reuters, quoted by BTA.
Trump appointed the two entrepreneurs to a special ministry aimed at a radical overhaul of US government spending, which has spent $6.8 trillion. dollars in the last fiscal year. Musk has set himself the goal of cutting costs by 2 trillion. dollars, though he did not say whether this would be achieved within a year or over a longer period.
The two heads of the Department of Government Efficiency have called for thousands of federal workers to be laid off, regulations to be cut and programs that have expired such as veterans health care to be stopped.
This may be easier said than done. Any changes to veterans programs or other popular programs that serve millions of Americans are likely to face fierce resistance, and efforts to cut employees could disrupt everything from the law enforcement system to air traffic control.
„We want to help him in any way we can. He has an apparently massive mission. But we all think that their endeavor is long overdue," Senator John Thune, who will lead the Republican majority in the Senate next year, told reporters after the meeting with Musk.
„I think we just need to make sure that we spend the public money well,”, Musk said for his part. The billionaire, CEO of electric car manufacturer “Tesla” and “SpaceX,” addressed only one specific policy, in response to a question about tax breaks for electric cars.
„I think we should get rid of all the tax breaks," he said.
Musk's companies benefit from federal contracts and tax breaks and are also subject to regulatory oversight, raising concerns that his involvement in the government efficiency ministry creates a conflict of interest.
Ramaswamy met separately with a group of Senate Republicans including Tom Tillis, who said afterward that they discussed actions that the Trump administration could only take, not those that would require legislation.
As co-chairs of the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk and Ramaswamy, who is a former CEO of a biotech company, will likely have to work with Congress to secure significant spending and personnel cuts, according to Reuters.