Elon Musk is continuing his role as a major financier for the Republican Party and is already spending money to keep the party in control of Congress for the 2026 midterm election cycle.
Axios reported on Tuesday that Musk has donated to Republican congressional campaigns and is expected to continue to do so throughout next year. Republicans are desperate to maintain control of Congress, which they will need to stave off expected Democratic-led investigations into corruption and abuse by the Trump administration.
Republican lawmakers have been announcing retirements ahead of the pivotal election season, indicating their party’s political weakness. Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters admitted last week that the party faces “almost certain defeat” in the midterms.
According to Axios, Musk’s donation spree to help the GOP comes after he was wined and dined last month by Vice President JD Vance and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, along with other Trump insiders.
Musk spent nearly $292 million in the 2024 election cycle, much of it in the form of deceptive advertising and legally dubious cash expenditures—all to help elect Trump.
After that success, Musk spent millions trying to elect a conservative to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, attracting national opposition. Eventually, his effort failed, and a liberal candidate won the election.
Musk’s latest political spending comes after a year of failure and public acrimony with Trump.
The two men sniped back and forth in public earlier in the year. Musk expressed displeasure in the Trump administration’s ongoing cover-up of the government’s files regarding accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, even claiming that Trump was in the files. Musk also said he was upset about the spending authorized in the Republican’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”
On his Fox News show, host Sean Hannity lamented the breakup in June, noting, “The rift between these two men, I’ll be the first to say, it’s sad, it’s unfortunate.”
Things got so bad that Musk claimed he would start a new political party, called the “America Party.” Like Musk’s promises of humanoid robots that will “eliminate poverty,” the new party has yet to materialize.
Musk later said his posts about Trump “went too far” and the men began to reconcile.
When he wasn’t fighting in public with Trump, Musk was leading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency at Trump’s request. Trump said it was the new “Manhattan Project,” and Musk promised that DOGE would cut “trillions” in government spending. It did not.
In reality, DOGE staffers violated privacy, broke laws, and made Musk’s name politically toxic. The project was phased out months ahead of its projected end date in July 2026.
Republicans now find themselves reliant on Musk, a highly disliked racist with more money than anyone else in the world, and need his financial support to avoid political oblivion.
