New York Republican congressman Mike Lawler was grilled by NewsNight host Abby Phillip over claims Elon Musk was “a major donor to his re-election campaigns.”
Lawler—who won re-election in New York’s 17th District in November—took it in the neck on the CNN show from former Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman, for his refusal to condemn the Trump ally’s reported briefing on a potential U.S.-China war.
The New York Times reported Thursday that the Department of Government Efficiency chief was due at the Pentagon to be handed some of the “nation’s most closely guarded military secrets.”
Bowman said Lawler was coy about condemning the story—which Donald Trump himself claimed as false in a Truth Social post after its release—because he is beholden to Musk.
“Congressman Lawler is not going to criticize him because Elon Musk is a major donor to Congressman Lawler’s re-election campaigns. And that’s the problem,” he said.
“Is that true, Congressman Lawler?” Phillip asked, with Bowman adding: “It’s very true.”
“Not directly. No, not directly to my campaign. He had an independent expenditure that he spent on dozens of congressional races,” came Lawler’s defense.
Bowman then barked that Lawler was “the second-biggest” recipient of Musk’s money after Donald Trump.
The conversation started when the NewsNight host asked Lawler if he was concerned about the potential scenario where Musk was briefed with sensitive material.
“Are you concerned about the fact that he would be given a briefing about war plans?” Phillip asked Lawler. “I mean, these are literally the most sensitive of secrets.”
After the host rolled off Musk’s business interests in China, including two production sites in the capital Shanghai, Lawler said that “any conflicts of interest should be addressed.”
“But in the case of, obviously Starlink, we see the United States military is utilizing Starlink with respect to military plans. The United States Navy uses it significantly,” he added.
“Obviously, when you’re talking about issues pertaining to China and their expansion in the Indo-Pacific, the threats against Taiwan, obviously these are significant issues. So, look, any conflict should be addressed, no question about that. But it is the secretary and the president that actually have the authority to provide the need-to-know.”
“They do, but it doesn’t mean that it’s wise. Congressman?” Phillip responded. “So, notice Congressman Lawler did not answer the yes-or-no question. Should this be concerning? Yes, absolutely. Elon Musk is trying to be the real-life Tony Stark and we can see him coming a mile away. We don’t trust Elon Musk,” Bowman said bluntly.
He added that he thinks “Elon is trying to be the first trillionaire and he wants to be an oligarch” that not just controls “American governments, he wants to control world governments.”
Bowman then claimed that Musk was a major donor to Lawler’s November re-election campaign, prompting the host’s grilling.
Donors can only give a limited amount directly to candidates, but there is no ceiling on how much they can spend campaigning for, or against, an individual.
Indeed, a super PAC started by Musk spent nearly $1 million backing Lawler in his race against Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones in New York City.
“Commonsense problem solver, Mike Lawler is fighting to bring tens of millions of federal dollars back the the Hudson Valley,” the PAC wrote on X in September. “He’s working for NY families. Stand with him and vote for Lawler!”
Musk said his PAC supported “candidates who believe in the core values of America.”
