Elon Musk wasn't on Tuesday's ballot, but he stands to lose a lot from Democrats' sweeping midterm victories in the House and Senate. In no state was this more acutely felt than in Texas, home to the headquarters of Musk's companies and where he spent more than $200 million, according to federal filings, in a mission to sway the Senate race in the Republican candidate's favor. With a Democratic majority in Congress, the billionaire, who controls Tesla and SpaceX, will likely face investigations into the billions of dollars of government contracts his companies have been awarded since President Trump returned to office and his role leading the Department of Government Efficiency at the beginning of Trump's second term.
Musk gave more than $445 million to Republican candidates, political action committees and outside groups, according to federal election filings analyzed by OpenSecrets, a nonprofit that tracks campaign spending. That makes him the top donor in the midterms and among the very largest political donors in American history. The central question Democratic lawmakers say they want answered is whether Musk used his influence inside the Trump administration to benefit his own businesses, and whether taxpayer money, government data and public institutions were put at risk in the process.
During the four months Musk led DOGE, he received at least $6.3 billion in government contracts. Since then, he has gained at least another $10 billion in government contracts, according to the Democracy Defenders Fund, a legal advocacy nonprofit. "The DOGE chickens are coming home to roost.
Elon Musk waved a chainsaw on stage and laughed while firing public servants and gutting the services Americans rely on. Then he lied to the American people about the savings. He must answer for it under oath," Rep.
James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) wrote on X. Musk's foreign dealings are also under scrutiny. Chris Coons of Delaware posted on X that Musk's links to Russia's President Vladimir Putin are "One more thing to add to the list of questions for Musk when I subpoena him." U.S.
Mike Levin of California highlighted that Musk restricted Ukraine's use of his Starlink satellite internet service days after Trump eased sanctions on Russia and began buying Russian diesel in October. Starlink and its military-grade counterpart, Starshield, are vital for Ukraine's civilian infrastructure, frontline communications and drone operations in its war against Russia. "How on earth did we get to this point?
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