Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) dismissed tech billionaire Elon Musk’s threat to back primary challengers against Republicans who support President Trump’s massive tax and spending bill, which is headed toward final passage in the House early Thursday morning.
Marshall told Just the News’s Nicholas Ballasy that he and his fellow GOP lawmakers are “ignoring” Musk’s warnings.
“I’ll take President Trump’s endorsement over Elon’s any day of the week, back home,” the Kansas Republican said, when asked about the threats.
“Look, we need to pass this bill because it helps fulfill President Trump’s agenda. His priorities were to secure the border, bring back prosperity and security,” he continued. “I think if we do those things — if we bring back prosperity and security — we’re going to get reelected.”
“Elon’s continuing his little spat,” the senator added. “We’re ignoring him. Let’s get this bill across the finish line.”
Musk on Monday said he would back primary challengers against any Republicans who support Trump’s megabill — which he’s called “political suicide” for the party. The Tesla CEO also promised to donate to lawmakers who have drawn the administration’s ire, including Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.).
The billionaire, who left his Trump administration adviser role at the end of May, has railed against the phasing out of the Biden-era energy tax credits, as well as the nearly $3.3 trillion the bill is expected to add to the deficit in the next decade.
Ballasy asked Marshall if he’s concerned about the amount of money that the richest person in the world could put behind primary challenges.
“I haven’t given it a second thought today,” the senator said. “It would be a big speed bump in certain states. In Kansas, probably not so much. I think President Trump was wildly popular in most of these states.”
But, Marshall said, the public feud between Trump and Musk, which was sparked by the latter’s opposition to the “big, beautiful bill,” isn’t sustainable long term.
“I think we need to find a way to get Elon back on board,” he added. “He’s a smart person. Brings a lot to our economy. Let’s figure out how to bring Elon back into the fold here.”