Why Elon Musk said a House Democrat ❝needs to be expelled❞ from Congress

When the billionaire called Rep. Rosa DeLauro an ❝awful creature,❞ it was a problem. When he called for the Democrat’s expulsion, it made the problem worse. ⤸

But in the case of Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, a primary challenge apparently isn’t good enough for the billionaire: Musk wants her to be kicked out of Congress altogether.

As CNBC reported, at the heart of the story is a change made to the stopgap spending bill designed to prevent a government shutdown last week.

House Democrats Jim McGovern of Massachusetts and Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut say their Republican colleagues in Congress caved to the demands of Elon Musk, sinking a bipartisan government funding bill that would have regulated U.S. investments in China.

In the original, bipartisan spending agreement — the one that Musk helped kill — there was a provision designed to restrict U.S. investments in China, specifically related to investments in the artificial intelligence and technology sectors......

DeLauro went a bit further, writing a letter to congressional leaders questioning whether the change to the bill reflected some kind of behind-the-scenes corruption: Perhaps, the Connecticut Democrat alleged, the legislation was tweaked specifically to benefit Musk, who has, as DeLauro put it, “extensive” business interests in China.

It was, to be sure, a provocative allegation. But the billionaire megadonor responded with an online item of his own, calling DeLauro an “awful creature” and saying that he believes the Democratic congresswoman “needs to be expelled from Congress!”

For the record, members of Congress are allowed to raise concerns about possible corruption, just as they’re able to make allegations regarding prominent public figures. Whether the congresswoman’s allegations have merit or not, to suggest that an elected lawmaker be kicked out of office for criticizing a billionaire in ways he doesn’t like is, to put it mildly, unsettling.