By MELISSA GOLDIN President-elect Donald Trump’s billionaire ally Elon Musk played a key role this week in killing a bipartisan funding proposal that would have prevented a government shutdown, railing against the plan in a torrent of more than 100 X posts that included multiple false claims. Related Articles National Politics | Trump adds Europe to list of US trade partners he’s threatening with tariffs National Politics | Judges topple gun restrictions as courts chart an uncertain path forward National Politics | Transgender people working in US government see peril under Trump National Politics | White House starts scrapping pending regulations, including student debt cancellation National Politics | Senate set to approve 235th judge of Biden’s term, beating Trump’s tally The X owner, an unelected figure, not only used his outsize influence on the platform to help sway Congress, he did so without regard for the facts and gave a preview of the role he could play in government over the next four years. “Trump has got himself a handful with Musk,” John Mark Hansen, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, said in an email.