Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) claimed he doesn’t know a single Democrat who is concerned about tech billionaire Elon Musk’s threat to fund moderate primary challenges to Democrats sitting in deep blue states.
Clyburn, a veteran congressman, insisted Saturday that Democrats would beat Musk by overwhelming the opposition.
“Look, I’m a child of the ‘60s. I grew up here in South Carolina. Ugh, I missed the vote yesterday. Because I was part of praising a gentleman of very humble origins who, uh, took that flag down from the Capitol dome and, uh, began an effort to, uh, remove it throughout the South. Clyburn said this during an appearance on CNN on Saturday.
“We did that with a lot of money against us. “When we worked with John Lewis in the ’60s, a lot of money and power was against us,” he said, referring to the influential civil rights activist and former congressman. “We did what we had to do. There’s not a single Democrat who’s afraid of Elon Musk’s money because we’re close to the voters and we’re going to outsmart him.”
The South Carolina Democrat’s comments come just days after Musk, a close ally of President-elect Trump, said he would fund challengers against the incumbent Democrat in deep blue states.
Musk said Thursday, “Oh… I also forgot to mention that Democrats will fund moderate candidates in dense districts so this country can get rid of people who don’t represent them, like this Zakah.” Musk said on Thursday. Social Media Platform X.
Musk, along with former 2024 Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, was selected by Trump to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which will focus on cutting government spending.
Throughout the week, Musk has demonstrated his influence over government funding negotiations on Capitol Hill by continuing to weigh in on pending legislation with his posts on X as Friday’s midnight deadline approaches. He helped torpedo the initial bipartisan stopgap spending bill that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) announced after negotiating with Democrats.
The Tesla CEO has not hesitated to support Trump in the 2024 presidential election, spending at least $250 million to elect the Republican candidate for a second term in the White House, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings. America PAC, a Super PAC formed in the 2024 cycle and heavily funded by Musk, has also spent money in various House races.
Building America’s Future, a dark money group backed by Musk, spent $23 million last year, according to recent tax records. The organization is led by Generra Peck and Phil Cox, two Republican operatives with ties to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). In 2022, the group earned $53 million, according to tax filings.
