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As part of a social media fight between the two, former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney blasted the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, and highlighted the fact that he has not always been a US citizen.

Musk, whose Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is investigating the federal government’s operations in order to implement cost-cutting measures at the request of new President Donald Trump, started the argument by circulating a post on his X platform that highlighted Cheney’s early career working for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Musk stated Cheney was “spawned” by USAID, which is responsible with handing out foreign aid and which he is targeting for abolition, earlier this week referring to it as a “criminal organization” without explaining himself.

Dozens of agency personnel have been placed on leave, and billions of dollars have been frozen while the Trump administration works to integrate it with the State Department.

Cheney completed work for USAID before enrolling at the University of Chicago Law School in 1996, as well as during the George W Bush administration, on projects in Hungary and Poland.

Cheney, who is now a pariah in the MAGA movement after serving on the House committee that investigated January 6 and campaigning with Kamala Harris in last year’s election, responded to the billionaire’s post about her USAID background by saying, “Damn right, Elon. I’m pleased of what America accomplished by winning the Cold War, defeating Soviet communism, and defending democracy.

“Our nation stood for freedom. You may be unfamiliar with that part of our history since you weren’t yet an American citizen.”

Here is an analysis of Musk’s citizenship status and its potential implications for his future political aspirations in light of her remarks.

Is Elon Musk a citizen of the United States?

Indeed. Although Musk was born and reared in Pretoria, South Africa, he immigrated to the United States as a student in 1992 and earned American citizenship in 2002, according to Walter Isaacson’s 2023 biography of the tech mogul.

In an X post last year, Musk revealed that he had first entered the nation on a J-1 visa, which allows international students to study in the United States, before switching to an H-1B temporary employment visa.

Is he eligible to run for president?

He can’t, no. According to the US Constitution, only those who are citizens by birth are eligible to become American presidents.

Naturalised citizens, however, are eligible to serve in other high federal positions, such as the cabinet of a president who was born in the United States.

Does he hold citizenship elsewhere?

Musk’s mother, Maye Musk, was born and reared in Canada but spent the most of her adult life in South Africa, therefore in addition to his American citizenship, he also holds South African citizenship and Canadian citizenship.

Before travelling to the United States, Elon spent two years at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, after obtaining a Canadian passport in 1989 thanks to her ties to the nation.

What citizenship are his children?

Between 2002 and 2006, Elon Musk’s first wife, Canadian author Justine Wilson, gave birth to the first six of his twelve children, with Nevada, the couple’s first child, tragically died at 10 weeks of age from sudden infant death syndrome.

More recently, he had three children with Canadian tech executive and venture capitalist Shivon Zilis, and two more with Canadian pop artist Grimes.

Thanks to the shared nationality of their three mothers, Musk’s children are all Canadian citizens, and any child born in the US will automatically be an American citizen if Trump fails to abolish the birthright citizenship principle, which he has tried to do as part of his crackdown on illegal immigration but which has already run into a number of legal issues.

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