{"id":18300,"date":"2026-01-28T09:46:41","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T09:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/elons-back-the-tech-moguls-checkbook-and-platform-are-galvanizing-the-gop\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T09:46:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T09:46:41","slug":"elons-back-the-tech-moguls-checkbook-and-platform-are-galvanizing-the-gop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/elons-back-the-tech-moguls-checkbook-and-platform-are-galvanizing-the-gop\/","title":{"rendered":"Elon\u2019s back: The tech mogul\u2019s checkbook and platform are galvanizing the GOP"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Just six months ago, most congressional Republicans kept their distance from Elon Musk after the tech mogul\u2019s messy political breakup with President Donald Trump and his feverish attempt to kill their signature megabill.<\/p>\n

Musk is persona non grata no longer, thanks to his mega checkbook and mega platform \u2014 both of which he is now using to influence the future of the GOP.<\/p>\n

Republicans see his recent donation to a Kentucky Senate candidate as an encouraging sign that Musk will make good on his promises to back the GOP, and top House leaders are elated \u2014 especially those in charge of defending their razor-thin majority. Musk spent more than $260 million in the last election helping to elect Trump and Republicans.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s definitely a positive development for us,\u201d NRCC Chair Richard Hudson said in an interview.<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cBy the way, when they had their rift, I told you all this would happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

That rift seemed unlikely to heal early on, with Musk accusing the president of covering up the Jeffrey Epstein files because Trump was named in the documents, then threatening to start his own political party.<\/p>\n

But just six months later, Musk is back having dinners with Trump and attempting to steer GOP policy again \u2014 and he is making his presence felt in key offices on Capitol Hill.<\/p>\n

Musk, who posted on New Year\u2019s Day<\/a> that \u201cAmerica is toast if the radical left wins,\u201d did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n

Recently he has used his 233-million-follower X account to push Senate Republicans to pass the SAVE Act \u2014 a bill meant to tighten election laws<\/a> to prevent noncitizens from voting, in part by imposing new proof-of-citizenship requirements and restricting mail voting.<\/p>\n

The campaign has driven a huge volume of calls to member offices, according to two aides granted anonymity to discuss internal matters, forcing Republican after Republican to publicly state their support for the legislation. It has no Democratic support and has not been called up for a vote because it cannot overcome the Senate\u2019s 60-vote filibuster hurdle.<\/p>\n

Two of the Senate\u2019s most endangered Republican incumbents \u2014 Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Cornyn \u2014 have leaned into Musk\u2019s push to hold a vote on the bill, often reposting his messages on their accounts. Cornyn also spoke privately with Thune about the bill last week.<\/p>\n

When Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas announced on X Saturday he was \u201creviewing\u201d the bill, Musk reposted the message<\/a> with a pair of American flag emojis.<\/p>\n

Asked about the bill, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in an interview Tuesday night that he was sure it would come up for a vote \u201cat some point\u201d but \u201cwe\u2019ll have to figure out where we can get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of interest in it, and I\u2019m supportive of it,\u201d Thune said, noting he has co-sponsored the bill previously.<\/p>\n

The public pressure campaign appears to have caught some Republicans by surprise given that there\u2019s been little internal rush to formally sign onto the bill since it\u2019s currently not moving and can\u2019t pass the Senate.<\/p>\n

Congressional Republicans, who have fresh memories of the trail of destruction he has often left on Capitol Hill, see Musk\u2019s re-emergence as a mixed blessing. He blew up a carefully negotiated bipartisan government funding deal in December 2024 and almost sunk the GOP megabill in the final stages of passage over his personal objections to the cancellation of electric vehicle subsidies and other policies.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a big voice,\u201d said Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah), a member of House GOP leadership, who recalled how Musk was \u201creally antagonistic\u201d about the huge Republican policy bill last year.<\/p>\n

But, he added, \u201cI think if he’s willing to be accurate, yeah, then I then totally want him on board.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s especially true when it comes to Musk\u2019s money. Even amid his feuding with Trump, he cut $10 million worth of checks<\/a> to the GOP super PACs charged with preserving the House and Senate majorities.<\/p>\n

But with Musk dropping another $10 million into Kentucky Senate candidate Nate Morris\u2019 campaign effort \u2014 and ending his dalliance with a third party \u2014 the expectation is that more checks will now be on the way.<\/p>\n

Hudson said he hasn\u2019t talked to Musk yet about any future financial commitments to helping House Republicans. But members are straining to get in his good graces as Republicans face huge midterm challenges without Trump on the ballot.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistory is not on our side,\u201d Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) said, referring to the typical midterm losses suffered by the president\u2019s party. \u201cWe’ll take any and all help possible to reverse that trend in history, because I think it’s important for the Republican Party.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether they want Musk as a presence on the campaign trail is a more complicated question. His Department of Government Efficiency initiative is widely seen as a bust nearly a year later, and his post-2024 election efforts to vocally back conservatives \u2014 like a Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate \u2014 backfired at the ballot box.<\/p>\n

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), a hard-liner who is running for governor of South Carolina, said Musk \u201cdid an unbelievable job in identifying waste, fraud and abuse\u201d and would be welcome both on the campaign trail and in his potential administration as an efficiency consultant.<\/p>\n

But Republicans in swingier territory are cooler to the idea of a large Musk presence in their races this fall.<\/p>\n

Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.), one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the House, said he was pleased to see Trump and Musk patch up their rift \u2014 that \u201cobviously we are better when we are united and as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if he wanted Musk to campaign in his district, Bresnahan was more equivocal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not really sure \u2014 I\u2019m impartial,\u201d Bresnahan said. \u201cWe look at whoever’s going to be supportive of what we’re trying to do for northeastern Pennsylvania, and if their mission aligns with our mission, then we’re going to embrace it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just six months ago, most congressional Republicans kept their distance from Elon Musk after the tech mogul\u2019s messy political breakup with President Donald Trump and his feverish attempt to kill their signature megabill. Musk is persona non grata no longer, thanks to his mega checkbook and mega platform \u2014 both of which he is now […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-congress"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18300\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}