Gop Lawmaker On Elon Musk: ‘to The Victor Goes The Spoils’

Republican Texas Rep. Randy Weber on Tuesday defended the administration’s slashing approach to the federal bureaucracy — including President Donald Trump's reliance on Elon Musk as the government cutter-in-chief.

“There’s an old saying: ‘To the victor goes the spoils,’” Weber said, acknowledging that a future Democratic president could similarly bring in their own unelected billionaire as a powerful adviser. "If the Democrats get in power and that’s what they choose to do, that’s what they choose to do.”

Weber, speaking in an interview at POLITICO Playbook’s First 100 Days breakfast series, also noted that all past presidents have had people they lean on for advice — such as George W. Bush turning to his wife, Laura Bush.

“Some people say that Elon Musk is an unelected president,” Weber said. “But here’s a fact: Every president in American history has the right to have his or her own advisers.”

Weber, who represents an oil-heavy district, also said Trump’s tariff threats on Canada and Mexico — which have heightened anxieties for the trade-dependent fossil fuel industry — amount to a negotiating tactic.

“We’ve seen this movie before, and you’ve watched a lot of those countries turn around and get in line,” Weber said, dismissing Canada’s concerns about the Trump tariffs as “back and forth.”

“When he makes them our 51st state, that won’t be a problem,” Weber added.