He was detaining the court in a t-shirt and blazer in an oval office, with a child clinging to his shoulders. He holds a private meeting on Capitol Hill, providing the senator with a phone number and expressing his complaints as if they were his constituents. And last month he wielded a chainsaw when he promised to cut his spending to the enthusiastic cheers from conservative activists.
Seven weeks after President Trump’s second administration, Elon Musk didn’t just overthrew the government. His ubiquity in Washington has also become an unpredictable factor that could reconstruct politics across the country.
Already, the slash-and-burn style of billionaires’ signatures and flashy spending cuts have echoed far beyond the Capitol, and even lawmakers in deep red states are beginning to sweat. He showed his willingness to directly shape the election by spending time in his hometown and threatening to use his property to curb dissent within the Republican Party.
And he gives Democrats a faint hope of hope for a message they can use against Trump, playing the lead role in a new ad for candidates, played by some of the party’s main campaign arms. Democrat operatives are willing to trade private polls that suggest Musk can prove serious liability to the president.
Many presidents have relied on family and close friends as advisors, but no unelected billionaires and newcomers in electoral politics have ever won such a powerful and well-known perch in the White House.
Musk’s support for Trump, which had nearly $300 million in financial support, may have helped him win the presidency. But their unusual governance arrangement is to ensure Republicans are politically yoked by Musk, not just Trump. His government efficiency pushes for proven unpopular reductions in federal programs and government jobs.
Some Republicans have already acknowledged potential political dangers and have uttered mild but notable words of caution about one of Trump’s biggest priorities.
“In my state, it’s always about employment and the economy,” Sen. Sherry Moore Capito said. “And whenever everyone loses their job, it carries a political risk to those in power. There’s no doubt.”
The risk for Republicans exceeds the possible impact of his reduction on voters. Musk is a quirky guy who has long been uncontrollable by filters and practices protected by his wealth and elite status in the tech industry. In one interview with Joe Rogan last week, he took puns about the Nazis, speculated about the sex robots that powered AI, and denounced the idea of social security.
Now, these ideas appear to have an open door to an oval office through a partnership that has raised eyebrows even among some supporters.
“I really don’t know what that relationship entails with him and the president,” Capito said. But she added, she supported the idea of the right size government.
“We’ll just ride it and see what happens,” she said.
The Democrats are also keen to take on it.
Elected officials, strategists and activists across the party have embraced the Musk-first strategy as a way to rally supporters, shake up independence and establish early attacks on the Republican Party.
“That’s a simple story. Elon Musk and the billionaire took over the government and stole from the American people, enriching themselves,” said the Connecticut Senator, one of Musk’s party’s earliest critics. “That’s the message. It’s true, it’s persuasive and if we repeat it over and over, they won’t win.”
The official vote suggests that Democrats have reasons for optimism. Washington Post Opinion survey Last month, it was found that 49% of American adults violated Musk’s federal work, and 34% approved it. Pue investigation When he was released on February 19, it turns out that 54% of respondents viewed Musk at a disadvantage, while only 3% hadn’t heard of him. And a Marist University’s polls His release on Monday revealed that half of respondents had a disadvantage about Musk. A slightly smaller share (44% of respondents) had a disadvantage about his department, but only 39% had positive opinions about it.
A study published by a study of progressive navigators showed that Musk is less popular than the president. A poll by a democratic organisation in February found that Musk had a significantly stronger name recognition than Vice President JD Vance.
Musk’s accusations were found in another private investigation that the administration’s initiatives were less popular. When his name was explicitly linked to the efficiency of government, his marquee effort, voters expressed a more disadvantageous view of the program.
Musk has already become a major driver of political battles outside of Washington. In Wisconsin, Democrats quickly seized a $1 million donation from his political action committee on behalf of a conservative candidate running for the heavily contested state Supreme Court seat. Wisconsin Democrats are currently framing the entire contest “People vs. musk.”
House Democrats run in Virginia advertisement Featuring Musk’s face, he accused Trump of cutting profits and increasing costs. Musk is also considering at least one well-known Democratic primary. New Jersey Governor race Candidate Like representative Mikier Cheryl, he frequently evokes Musk with his stumps. Musk’s footage creates a gesture that looks like a Nazi salute. advertisement By an external group supporting Sheryl. She and another candidate, Representative Josh Gottimer, were attacked for receiving a donation from SpaceX’s Corporate Political Action Committee in a previous campaign.
House majority forward, a super PAC supporting Democrats running for the House, released an ad this week targeting 23 vulnerable Republican lawmakers, highlighting Musk and sending a message that didn’t mention Trump. One of the ads Republicans smoke Medicaid, force rural hospitals to close, eliminate health insurance for low-income children, and say they will “fund a massive tax cut for Elon Musk and the billionaire.” The video concludes with video footage of Musk screaming and waving a chainsaw at a conservative political action meeting last month.
In February, House majority advised Democrats running for Congress to focus on how Musk’s cuts harm popular programs such as Social Security and Medicare. “We shouldn’t chide that Musk, Trump and others are rich, but our audiences need to know that the programs that working families and seniors rely on are at risk.
Still, there are some indications that politics around Musk is already shifting in Washington. Republicans at Capitol Hill have pushed him to help them explain his actions better, and some of them claim they are standing up for their constituents worried that their work and their funds will be in the chopping block.
Sen. Katie Britt, a Republican of Alabama, said:
Even that gentle pushback is rare for Republicans who have been praised for Musk and his cost-cutting efforts, even the mild pushback is rare for Republicans who have learned to march in a lockstep with Trump.
Other Republicans have expressed reservations about the role Musk may play in government budget consultations, particularly on the possibility of a close closure.
“Everyone, especially Elon, needs to consider how unproductive it is,” North Carolina Sen. Tom Tillis said of the possible halt. In an interview, he said that while most of what Musk was doing with government efficiency makes sense, “there is a unique character in a democracy that doesn’t make everything work.”
There are some indications that Trump himself may be working to raise Musk. He was praised for him in his joint speech to Congress on Tuesday, but Trump on Thursday said his cabinet secretary, not Musk, has the authority to carry out the cut.
“We say ‘Mesulpel’ rather than ‘hatchet’,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
But as his cut affects the lives of the wider stripes of Americans, Democrats are preparing to make their enemies pay for this year’s election and in the mid-term.
“This isn’t a discussion about the bill in Congress, it never passes and doesn’t really affect people,” said Democrat strategist Jesse Ferguson. “If you don’t get a VA benefits or social security check, or if your illness is not being studied, they own it now.”
Even in an unpredictable political environment, Ferguson said, “The rules for ceramic barns still apply.”
