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Critics label Elon Musk US 'shadow president' — media

The report says that "Musk’s rapid-fire messages - which included numerous false claims about the contents of the spending bill - ricocheted" across Washington

WASHINGTON, December 20. /TASS/. Critics have called US entrepreneur Elon Musk a "shadow president" of the United States after his involvement in the process of passing a bill to fund the federal government, The Washington Post (WP) reported.

According to the publication, "on Wednesday, Musk wielded his powerful X account to pressure House Republicans to torpedo a spending bill that would have kept the federal government open for three months."

The newspaper says that "Musk’s rapid-fire messages - which included numerous false claims about the contents of the spending bill - ricocheted" across Washington. After that, lawmakers started reporting that "their phone lines were ringing all day with calls from constituents."

The publication notes that about 12 hours after Musk's initial post, President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect James David Vance also spoke out against the bill, prompting Republicans in the House of Representatives to reject it. Democrats expressed concern that the chaos on Capitol Hill this week is just a precursor to what will unfold under the Trump administration, The Washington Post summarized.

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