Elon Musk has backed Rick Scott for Senate majority leader
Elon Musk wants Rick Scott to be the next Senate majority leader.
He backed Scott after asking people on X who should take up the position.
Musk's endorsement comes after he used his money and power to help Trump win the election.
Elon Musk is backing Sen. Rick Scott of Florida to lead the GOP in the Senate.
"Rick Scott for Senate Majority Leader!" Musk wrote in an X post on Sunday, a few hours after he posted a poll asking who should take up the position.
Rick Scott for Senate Majority Leader! https://t.co/lpT34yHTKk
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 10, 2024
When this article went live Monday, 1,088,220 votes were registered on Musk's poll. Scott took 65.5% of the vote, while John Thune of South Dakota and Sen. John Cornyn of Texas got 6.6% and 5.2% respectively. Around 22.6% of the votes were for "other" candidates.
Representatives for Musk and Scott did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
The race to find a successor for outgoing party leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, comes after the Republican Party clinched control of the Senate last week. The GOP is expected to hold at least 52 Senate seats, giving it a majority in the upper house.
The race for Senate leadership is shaping up to be a three-way fight between Scott, Cornyn, and Thune. Both Cornyn and Thune served as deputies to McConnell when he was Senate majority leader. Thune is GOP whip.
Republican senators are set to vote for their next leader in a secret ballot on Wednesday.
President-elect Donald Trump has yet to endorse a candidate but wrote in an X post on Sunday that the next Senate majority leader should support his recess appointments.
Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner. Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more. This is…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2024
Scott, Cornyn, and Thune all wrote on X that they agree with Trump on the matter.
Musk's growing power
Musk's comments on X on Sunday come as his power and influence in the political world are on the rise.
The billionaire CEO was a major contributor to Trump's presidential campaign.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO held his own rallies and spent just under $119 million on his pro-Trump political action committee, America PAC.
Musk said on Tuesday that his super PAC will continue to play a role in American politics even after the 2024 election. America PAC, he said, is "preparing for the midterms and any intermediate elections, as well as looking at elections at the district attorney level."
It's unclear what role Musk will have in Trump's second administration. Both he and Trump have expressed interest in having Musk lead a government-efficiency commission to reduce spending.
Musk joined Trump's calls with both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week, according to media reports.
The New York Times reported that Trump handed the phone to Musk during his call with Zelenskyy. Musk told Zelenskyy that he would continue to support Ukraine with his Starlink satellites, per Axios.
"We have a new star, a star is born. Elon. He is an amazing guy," Trump said on Wednesday morning after declaring his electoral victory.
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