Washington DC - California Congressman and possible presidential hopeful Ro Khanna has challenged trillionaire Elon Musk to a debate after the two had a messy public social media feud.
On Monday, Khanna shared a video on X, in which he discussed how he and Musk have been going back and forth on the platform in recent days after he cited a study in an interview that cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) "may lead to the deaths of millions of children overseas."
In response, Musk, who oversaw DOGE, spent "all day tweeting" in anger at Khanna, eventually threatening to sue him and calling on the Department of Justice to arrest him.
"You know Elon, I thought you were a free speech guy. Why not debate me on these issues instead of threatening lawfare?" Khanna said in his video.
The congressman spent the day issuing his challenge in multiple interviews. While speaking to CNBC, he suggested to "do it on CNN, do it on CNBC, do it at a university, he can pick the setting."
In an interview with CNN, Khanna argued Musk was targeting him because he is politician who is "standing up to the billionaire class."
"People should judge me by the folks who are attacking me," he said, adding, "I have the guts to take on the world's first trillionaire."
Elon Musk's time with DOGE
At the beginning of President Donald Trump's second term, Musk was tasked with using DOGE to go after anything he and the administration deemed "waste, fraud, and abuse" in government spending. The SpaceX CEO ultimately oversaw the cutting of countless federal agencies, grants, and programs, including aid provided to countries around the world.
Near the end of Musk's time as a temporary government employee, he and Trump got into a messy feud in which the world's wealthiest man unforgettably said publicly that the president was in the government files on sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Khanna, along with Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie, led the congressional effort to force the administration to release the Epstein files, which has made him a top enemy to Trump and MAGA Republicans.