President-elect Donald Trump returned to Washington on Wednesday with major backer Elon Musk, where he joked that he cannot get rid of his billionaire supporter.
Trump attended the House of Representatives Republican conference, delivering remarks during his visit to DC. Front and center of the gathering on Capitol Hill was the richest man in the world.
It was the last appearance for Musk, who has been hanging out at Mar-a-Lago since helping Trump return to the White House with the 2024 election.
According to one person in the room, Trump, 78, joked to Republicans in the House of Representatives: “Elon won’t be going home.”
‘I can’t get rid of him. Until I don’t like him anymore,” the president-elect reportedly said.
Trump supporter Elon Musk sat in the front row and received a shoutout from Trump during the House GOP conference meeting
Musk also received a standing ovation from Republican lawmakers at the meeting after receiving a shoutout from Trump while delivering remarks.
“Elon has been so great,” Trump said, pointing to Musk who was sitting in the middle row directly in front of the stage.
At that moment, the billionaire turned and waved to the crowd of Republican leaders.
Several members of the GOP conference stood and applauded. Some lawmakers could also be heard cheering.
Musk has been a near-permanent force at the center of the Trump transition since the ex-president won the 2024 election with significant campaign help from the businessman.
Elon Musk arrives at the House Republican Conference meeting on Capitol Hill as Trump reaches his peak on November 13
He has been seen regularly at Trump’s Florida home since the election, after celebrating victory with campaign officials on election night.
The billionaire has been spotted at Trump’s golf course and at dinner with the newly elected president.
Trump’s granddaughter even called the bombastic billionaire “uncle” in a social media post.
On Wednesday morning, he was among several Trump staffers spotted walking from the president-elect’s plane ahead of his visit to D.C. to meet with President Biden and Republican lawmakers.
Elon Musk was seen disembarking from the plane with members of Trump’s team
Elon Musk leaves the Republican Conference of the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill on November 13
Musk holds a folder reading “Reverse the Curse” as he leaves the GOP meeting
It comes after Trump announced on Tuesday that Musk will co-lead a new Department of Government Efficiency along with Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential candidate.
Trump said in his statement that it would pave the way for his administration to dismantle the “government bureaucracy” and that would be “potentially the Manhattan Project of our time.”
“We finally have a mandate to eliminate the mountain of stifling regulations that do not serve the greater good,” Musk wrote on Wednesday on X, which he also owns.
But this move also met with criticism, because Musk’s companies have come into contact with the authorities with which he now has to deal directly.
Musk jumps around on stage as Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Butler, PA on October 5
The nonprofit Public Citizen called his appointment “the ultimate corruption.”
“Not only is Musk ignorant of government efficiency and regulation, his own companies regularly run afoul of the rules that he will be able to attack in his new ‘czar’ position,” said group co-chair Lisa Gilbert .
“This is the ultimate corporate corruption. “If anyone had any doubts about whether the Trump administration wants to serve the common people or the billionaires, they must be resolved now,” she continued.