Musk began posting on X against a stopgap government spending bill on Wednesday well before Trump weighed in against the legislation.

Democratic members of Congress are incensed at the outsized power billionaire-turned-Trump lieutenant Elon Musk appears to be exercising over the policymaking process. Why it matters: Musk's fervent public opposition helped scuttle a federal funding deal Democrats were prepared to support en masse – putting the government on the brink of a holiday shutdown.