Jessica Tarlov, co-host of Fox News, expressed her disapproval of Elon Musk for his involvement in the discussions surrounding Congress’ spending bill. She was particularly critical of the decision to remove funding for a program dedicated to pediatric cancer research, which was jeopardized by the actions of Musk and President-elect Donald Trump during a dramatic confrontation Wednesday night.
The Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program, created in 2014, had its funding secured by Congress for a decade. However, during the events of Wednesday, the reauthorization of its funding was derailed when Musk and Trump insisted on a more streamlined funding proposal, ultimately dismantling a bipartisan deal at the last moment.
On the show The Five, Tarlov noted that the $190 million necessary for funding this program was a relatively small amount compared to the overall contents of the original legislation.
“Elon Musk, the richest individual globally, sought this. What is the concern regarding a bipartisan cancer research initiative priced at $190 million? It is just a fraction of the overall proposal. Such provisions are the types of casualties in this process,” Tarlov commented.
Several lawmakers, including Virginia Representative Jennifer Wexton, also highlighted the exclusion of the program from the most recent iteration of the bill, which ultimately failed later that Thursday night.
Tarlov emphasized that Musk was the first to publicly oppose the spending bill, leading to him being labeled as “President Musk.” Online, Trump has been humorously dubbed “Vice President Trump.”
“The perception that [Musk] is an unelected president arises not just from the hundreds of millions he invested to support Donald Trump’s election, but also because Trump did not voice objections to the bill until Musk expressed his discontent,” she explained.
“Until Musk reacted, Trump remained silent. Then Musk got upset and propagated inaccurate assertions regarding bioweapons, labs, and the Washington stadium, which he misunderstood altogether, and suddenly these events unfolded,” she added.
Tarlov referred to Musk’s misleading amplification on X, where he shared erroneous information asserting that the spending bill included $3 billion earmarked for a new stadium for the Washington Commanders football team.
