Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said the pressure Elon Musk is putting on Congress is what he receives on a regular basis.
"I know that some people out there are saying, 'Well, he's putting pressure on everybody.' That's nothing new. We get that kind of pressure on a regular basis," Rounds said in an interview on Monday's Politico Tech podcast.
Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, co-heads a new agency, the Department of Government Efficiency, and has quickly become a major adviser to President-elect Donald Trump as the transition to the new administration continues.
Republicans shuttered the initial government funding deal last Thursday after Musk slammed it on X, the social media giant he owns.
The House ultimately passed a bill to keep the government open Friday night.
"Well, look, I mean, it's pressure," Rounds said. "But, you know, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."
The senator said Musk is not accountable to Congress.
"[I] would assume that he is accountable to the president because the president is the one who is allowing him to advise him," Rounds said. "The president is listening to what he has to say, but he's accountable to the president. And I think he would acknowledge that."
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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