President-elect Donald Trump traveled to Brownsville, Texas, on Tuesday to watch SpaceX test launch its Starship rocket, as the world's richest man has become a key figure by the side of the president-elect.
In a post on his Truth Social platform earlier Tuesday, Trump touted the visit as one to witness the "launch of the largest object ever to be elevated not only to space but simply by lifting off the ground." Tuesday's launch was the sixth liftoff attempt for Starship, the largest rocket ever built, and appeared successful, though officials opted not to attempt a catch of the "super heavy" booster's return and instead allowed it to splashdown into the Gulf of Mexico.
Trump and Musk's joint appearance also served as the latest sign of the burgeoning relationship between two of the most powerful individuals in the world. During Trump's campaign, Musk took on a prominent role – once going so far as to describe himself as "dark MAGA" -- and has often garnered the praise of Trump, who has touted Musk as a "Super Genius."
"We have to protect our Geniuses," Trump said during his election night victory speech.
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The tech billionaire has frequently been seen by Trump's side since the election.
"I can't get him out of here. He just likes this place," Trump joked during remarks at his Mar-a-Lago club on Nov. 13. "And you know what? I like having him here, too. He's good."
Musk's companies, SpaceX among them, have garnered billions of dollars of federal government contracts, as well as some scrutiny from regulatory bodies. Earlier in Nov., Trump named Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to lead an outside group dubbed the "Department of Government Efficiency." Trump said the group would work with the White House " to drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before."
Meanwhile Tuesday, Trump continued to round out his cabinet appointees, naming transition team co-chair Howard Lutnick to be his nominee for Secretary of Commerce and reality television host Dr. Mehmet Oz as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. The positions could play influential roles in enacting Trump's trade and healthcare agendas.
Some of Trump's other cabinet picks, however, have drawn significant pushback from both sides of the aisle, chief among them Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Trump's nominee for Attorney General, who had been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for allegedly engaging in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use prior to his sudden departure from Congress last week. Multiple Republican senators have expressed doubts that Gaetz could be confirmed, though Trump Tuesday told reporters he has no intention of withdrawing his candidacy.
And Musk, for his part, expressed support for Gaetz too, writing in a post on X that he will "clean up a corrupt system and put powerful bad actors in prison" and be a "Hammer of Justice."
