In battleground Wisconsin, wariness of Musk in White House crosses party lines
CNN
Voters’ opinions of the tech billionaire and his government-cutting efforts are shaping how they view the first month of Donald Trump’s return to power.
Ask voters in this politically divided Wisconsin suburb about President Donald Trump’s first month in office, and another name quickly follows: Elon Musk. Opinions about the tech billionaire’s role in the Trump administration’s efforts to slash government spending are shaping how those in Cedarburg – a city that split nearly evenly in the 2020 and 2024 elections, in one of the nation’s most competitive swing states – say they view the first month of the president’s return to power. Gina Cilento said she voted for Trump after a stretch of being undecided leading up to November’s election and is “really glad I did.” She credited Trump for “cleaning house with commonsense moves to get rid of the horrific spending that’s going on that taxpayers didn’t know about.” “I’m really amazed at what he’s accomplishing within his first month in office,” said Cilento, who runs a pickleball studio in Cedarburg. However, she added that she is “not 100% on board with Elon Musk” – the man who Trump says is in charge of the new Department of Government Efficiency and implementing those spending reductions through layoffs, budget cuts and the smothering of agencies. Those moves have spurred dozens of lawsuits.
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