President-elect Trump joined Elon Musk on Tuesday in Texas to observe the launch of a SpaceX rocket as the two leaders have spent significant time together since Election Day.
Trump was joined by some of his staff and Republican lawmakers, including Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Kevin Cramer (R-S.D.) and Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas). Trump embraced Musk, the founder of SpaceX, upon arriving at the company’s Brownsville launch facility.
The president-elect earlier in the day urged Republican senators to “Show Up and Hold the Line” against Democratic judicial nominations.
Tuesday marked the sixth test launch of SpaceX’s Starship rocket. In its fifth test last month, SpaceX caught a rocket booster on its Texas launchpad as it returned to Earth. Trump regularly invoked that test launch during his campaign rallies in the closing stretch of the presidential election.
Trump and Musk have developed an increasingly close relationship in recent weeks. Musk, the CEO of Tesla and owner of social platform X, endorsed Trump after a July assassination attempt and donated millions of dollars to a pro-Trump super PAC that helped with voter turnout efforts.
Since Election Day, Musk has been a near-constant presence at Trump’s side at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla. He has joined calls with foreign leaders, attended meetings in Washington with the president-elect and offered input on Cabinet positions.
Musk also publicly weighed in on the ongoing fight over who Trump should pick as Treasury secretary over the weekend.
Trump has expressed fondness for Musk, who was also tapped to co-lead a new government efficiency department alongside entrepreneur and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
But some Republicans, including those close to Trump’s transition, have suggested the honeymoon phase may not last. They have argued Trump will grow tired of Musk inserting himself into decision-making and grabbing the spotlight, just as he has in the past when officials have outshined him.
