Tech billionaire Elon Musk, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to head up a new Department of Government Efficiency, has no qualms about speaking his mind and sometimes says things that not all of his Republican fans and supporters agree with.

That happened on Thursday when Musk praised Democratic Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) as someone who was "hard not to like" and "puts country over party," which sparked fury from some conservatives, Newsweek reported.

Musk's heralding of Fetterman was not without reason, though, as it instead came in response to the Pennsylvania senator's highly complimentary words about him.

Fetterman compliments Musk

Earlier on Thursday, while speaking to a reporter inside the U.S. Capitol building, Sen. Fetterman was asked if he could envision himself working cooperatively with Musk and business entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy on their as-yet-unlaunched DOGE initiative."

"Yeah," Fetterman replied. "I admire Mr. Musk. He has been involved in very important parts of American society: AI, SpaceX, and other kinds of things."

"Yes, he's on a different team, but that doesn't make me an enemy. I don't think I'm automatically going to become a critic," he continued.

The senator added of Musk, "He has made our economy and our nation better, and our politics are different, and I may not agree with some of the things he might say, but that doesn't make him an enemy."

NEW: Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) has kind words for Elon Musk, vows to work with him.

"I admire @ElonMusk. He has been involved in very important parts of American society."

"Yes, he's on a different team, but that doesn't make me an enemy [...] Hey - he has made our economy… pic.twitter.com/FDuzYb7us7

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 5, 2024

Musk praises Fetterman

Later Thursday evening, Musk shared that video clip on his X account and wrote, "Hard not to like @SenFettermanPA. He puts country over party."

The comments in response to Musk's post were a mixed bag of reactions, as some of his followers held similar sentiments about the Democratic senator while others strongly disagreed and cautioned the influential tech billionaire to reconsider his assessment carefully.

To be sure, Fetterman has on multiple occasions over the past couple of years expressed his common sense and pragmatic views on certain issues that don't always align with his Democratic Party and have elicited cheers and compliments from some Republicans and conservatives, as several commenters alluded to.

That said, others pointed out that he is still a Democrat who typically votes along with the rest of his party and maintains stances on some issues that many conservatives and Republicans find unacceptable.

One of those who falls in the latter camp, according to Newsweek, is Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), who derided Musk's comments about Sen. Fetterman as "bulls--t" and said, "It is hard to not like what @SenFettermanPA what he says, it is easy to hate how he really votes. Do not fall for this."

However, the outlet noted that in addition to signaling his openness to working with Musk on the issue of improving government efficiency, Fetterman has also indicated that he's willing to work with President-elect Trump and his incoming administration on some issues and has suggested that he might even vote in favor of confirming some of Trump's Cabinet picks.