XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh
House Democrats say GOP caved to Musk in funding bill, protecting his
China interests
Published Sat, Dec 21 202410:32 PM EST
House Democrats Jim McGovern and Rosa DeLauro accused Republican
colleagues of bending to Elon MuskÆs demands in sinking a bipartisan
funding bill.
Congress passed a stopgap funding bill instead on Saturday, but
discarded a provision to screen and regulate U.S. investments in China.
The scrapped provision ôwould have made it easier to keep cutting-
edge AI and quantum computing tech ù as well as jobs ù in America,ö
McGovern wrote on X.
House Democrats Jim McGovern of Massachusetts and Rosa DeLauro of
Connecticut say their Republican colleagues in Congress caved to the
demands of Elon Musk, sinking a bipartisan government funding bill that
would have regulated U.S. investments in China.
Congress passed a separate stopgap funding bill over the weekend,
averting a government shutdown.
In a series of posts on X, McGovern said more could have been
accomplished. The scrapped provision ôwould have made it easier to keep cutting-edge AI and quantum computing tech ù as well as jobs ù in
America,ö he wrote. ôBut Elon had a problem.ö
Tesla
, run by Musk, is the only foreign automaker to operate a factory in
China without a local joint venture. Tesla also built a battery plant
down the street from its Shanghai car factory this year, and aims to
develop and sell self-driving vehicle technology in China.
ôHis bottom line depends on staying in ChinaÆs good graces,ö McGovern
wrote about Musk. ôHe wants to build an AI data center there too ù which
could endanger U.S. security. HeÆs been bending over backwards to
ingratiate himself with Chinese leaders.ö
SpaceX, MuskÆs aerospace and defense contractor, has reportedly withheld
its Starlink satellite internet service over Taiwan at the request of
Chinese and Russian leaders. Taiwan is a self-ruling democracy that
Beijing claims as its territory. TaiwanÆs status is one of the biggest flashpoints in U.S.-China relations.
DeLauro, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, wrote in
a letter to Congress on Friday that Musk needs ôChinese government
approvals for his companyÆs projects in the country.ö ItÆs concerning,
that Musk ôhas ingratiated himself with Chinese Communist Party
leadership,ö she wrote.
In the letter, DeLauro referred to the Tesla and SpaceX CEO as
ôPresidentö Musk, alluding to the fact that the worldÆs richest person
began railing against the prior funding bill on Wednesday, before President-elect Donald Trump came out with a statement of his own.
Trump had wanted the GOP to sink the bill, and issue a new one that would
raise the debt ceiling so he could avoid that fight during the start of
his second term in office. The stopgap funding bill, which President Joe
Biden signed on Saturday, did not include the two-year suspension of the
U.S. debt limit that Trump was seeking.
Musk responded to DeLauroÆs concerns by calling her an ôawful creatureö
in a post on X.
After acquiring Twitter in 2022, Musk rebranded it X and used it to help
propel Trump back into the White House, becoming a close adviser and
major backer to the incoming president along the way.
Musk contributed $277 million to the Trump campaign and other Republican
causes during the 2024 cycle, according to Federal Election Commission
filings. Since the election in November, Musk has become a nearly
constant presence at TrumpÆs side, including in meetings with foreign
leaders.
Trump appointed Musk to co-lead a group thatÆs not yet formed, but will
be tasked with finding ways to cut regulations, personnel and budgets.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/21/house-democrats-say-gop-caved-to-elon- musk-protecting-china-interests.html
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