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Khanna challenges Musk to debate after DOGE spat turns ugly
Rep. Ro Khanna challenged Elon Musk to a televised debate after Musk said the congressman should be sued or jailed over USAID cuts. The exchange pits a 2028 contender against the world's richest man.
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Rep. Ro Khanna, a potential 2028 presidential contender, challenged Elon Musk to a televised debate on the impact of cuts made during Musk's tenure atop the Department of Government Efficiency initiative. The challenge followed an ugly social media exchange between the Silicon Valley congressman and the world's richest man.
"I challenge him to a debate ... do it on CNN, do it on CNBC, do it at a university, he can pick the setting and let's debate what happened at DOGE, let's debate why I'm for a wealth tax," Khanna said Monday in an interview with CNBC. "We can have a conversation of ideas if he believes in free speech and free expression about these issues."
The challenge came after an intense exchange on X, the social media platform Musk owns. Musk said Khanna should be sued or jailed. The California Democrat had previously said Musk needs to answer for potential deaths caused by DOGE's shuttering of the U.S. Agency for International Development.
A debate would pit the world's richest man against a rising White House contender at a time when the Democratic Party is pushing new taxes on the wealthy and railing against billionaires.
"It's not pleasant to have the world's richest person with the biggest platform on X go say you should be in prison and that he's going to sue you, and then I'm a liar," Khanna said. "I'm taking on the richest person in the world, and I would hope that he would have an actual debate about it."
Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The fight began early Monday, when Musk took issue with Khanna's recent citing of a study published in the Lancet that claimed cuts to USAID could cause the deaths of more than 4.5 million children. DOGE, led by Musk, effectively shuttered USAID as it tore through Washington last year in an attempt to downsize the federal government.
On a podcast Saturday, Khanna said Musk "needs to answer" for the "4.5 million children around the world who he possibly sentenced to death by dismantling USAID."