Elon Musk’s Determining Role in Washington

Editor’s Note: Washington Week With The Atlantic is a partnership between NewsHour Productions, WETA, and The Atlantic airing every Friday on PBS stations nationwide. Check your local listings or watch full episodes here.

Joe Biden has faded from national leadership as Donald Trump and his allies, including Elon Musk, act as though they’re already in charge. Panelists on Washington Week With The Atlantic joined last night to discuss this and how a government shutdown came to be on the table.

Musk has become one of the most powerful men in Washington, playing a determining role in the Trump administration. The tech billionaire is a new character for Trump to engage with, Mark Leibovich said last night, but how long he’ll remain useful to the president-elect remains to be seen. “Donald Trump loves new toys, he loves new partners, and he especially loves to be seen in partnership with someone who is richer than him, who is richer than anyone in the world,” Leibovich explained.

But regardless of how long Musk remains by Trump’s side, his presence—especially on matters such as calls with foreign leaders—is far from traditional for someone who does not have the expertise of governance, Asma Khalid said. “What does this mean for the health of the American democracy as it’s known?” she asked. “To see somebody who is so wealthy in an unelected position have the ear of the president in such a way” is “extremely unprecedented.”

Joining the editor in chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, to discuss this and more: Asma Khalid, a White House correspondent for NPR; Mark Leibovich, a staff writer at The Atlantic; Ashley Parker, a senior national political correspondent at The Washington Post; and Vivian Salama, a national politics reporter at The Wall Street Journal.

Watch the full episode here.