Elon Musk has responded to a Donald Trump voter who has recently expressed dissatisfaction with the direction of the Republican Party and has gone viral several times for his critiques of the GOP.
Writing on his X, formerly Twitter, the Tesla and SpaceX owner responded to Matt Van Swol after he expressed concerns that the GOP failed to codify cuts made to the federal government recommended by Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Why It Matters
Van Swol previously voted Democrat but became a Republican influencer on social media after calling for more aid in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene in 2024, according to the Telegraph. He frequently tweets about political issues and recently went viral after saying the GOP “blew it” by failing to codify DOGE cuts.
In March, Senate Republicans pushed for Congress to enshrine into law DOGE cuts, aiming to turn them into enduring policy shifts. However, some Republicans have pushed back, saying it would be difficult to achieve, according to The Washington Post.
Elon Musk speaks during an event with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on February 11, 2025, in Washington.
Elon Musk speaks during an event with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on February 11, 2025, in Washington.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
What To Know
Writing on X on Sunday, Van Swol criticized the GOP again, saying he couldn’t “believe” that the GOP “won’t vote on” DOGE, which he called “one of the most popular government initiatives in history.”
Musk, who recently took a step back from DOGE to concentrate on his companies, responded by posting: “Did my best.”
The saddest, most shocking reply of the year from Elon.
Essentially confirming what I already feared.
The GOP not codifying the DOGE cuts has convinced Elon to give up on saving America from bankruptcy.
They burned their strongest ally and last hope towards America’s… pic.twitter.com/gKZFGvOEAR
— Matt Van Swol (@matt_vanswol) May 24, 2025
Van Swol then screenshotted the post and wrote: “These responses from Elon are horrifying. The GOP will forever be haunted by taking photos with Elon, saying they believed in DOGE, praising its work…… and then doing NOTHING to cut government waste, fraud and abuse. Our elected leaders are f****ng cowards.”
In a previous post, Van Swol said he was “incredibly disappointed” in the GOP as it had “failed to implement” DOGE cuts, to which Musk replied: “Yeah (sigh).”
What People Are Saying
Republican Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, on X: “I can’t disagree with anything here. We should have been voting on DOGE cuts every single week.”
I can’t disagree with anything here.
We should have been voting on DOGE cuts every single week. https://t.co/EbUZ22clIL
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) May 26, 2025
What Happens Next
In May, Musk, the richest person in the world, said he plans to cut back on political work, telling a conference he had “done enough.”
Cabinet secretaries are expected to continue the department’s work.
“There’ll be a point at which the secretaries will be able to do this work…with the scalpel, and that’s what we want,” Trump said in April.
The Republican Party will next face the electorate in the November 2026 midterms.