Elon Musk exerts deepening influence on Donald Trump's presidential transition
CTV
Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club has been brimming in the last 48 hours with two kinds of people: those angling for a job in the president-elect’s incoming administration, and those trying to influence him into hiring their picks for the top spots.
Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club has been brimming in the last 48 hours with two kinds of people: those angling for a job in the president-elect’s incoming administration, and those trying to influence him into hiring their picks for the top spots.
But the one person who has loomed over it all and has exerted a great deal of influence is Elon Musk, according to multiple sources. The tech billionaire has been seen at the resort in Palm Beach, Florida, almost every day since Trump won the election last week, dining with him on the patio some evenings and hanging out with his family Sunday at the golf course.
Musk has been in the room when multiple world leaders have phoned Trump, and he’s weighed in on staffing decisions, with the SpaceX and Tesla CEO even making clear his preference for certain roles.
In one instance, Musk was with Trump at Mar-a-Lago when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called to congratulate the president-elect the day after the election, according to a source briefed on the call. Trump put the call on speaker, and Zelensky thanked Musk for his help providing communications to Ukraine through the billionaire’s Starlink internet service.
On Sunday, Musk waded into the GOP Senate leadership fight, endorsing Sen. Rick Scott after the Florida Republican swiftly backed Trump’s demand that anyone vying to be leader support recess appointments for his nominees — a way for presidents to attempt to bypass Congress that Senate Democrats could essentially block.
Musk is not only close to Trump but also with his transition co-chair, Howard Lutnick — the billionaire CEO of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald who is leading the personnel side of the transition.
Sources have described Trump as enamored with Musk.
