Trump eyes breakup with Musk after special election disaster
President Donald Trump is reportedly telling his closest advisers that co-President Elon Musk will soon exit the administration, Politico reported on Wednesday—an apparent effort to distance himself from the unpopular megabillionaire whose destruction of the federal government hangs like an albatross around Republicans' necks in upcoming elections.
The report comes after Musk spent $25 million on a race for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, only to end up tanking Republicans' chances. Democrats, meanwhile, ran a campaign tying the conservative nominee to Musk, whose efforts to slash the federal government through his so-called Department of Government Efficiency have caused chaos and suffering and are very unpopular. The anti-Musk message led Democrats to an sizable victory, ensuring that liberals will maintain a majority for at least the next two years.
Musk’s omnipresence in the Trump administration also led Republicans to put up poor showings in two congressional special elections in Florida, where the GOP nominees underperformed President Donald Trump’s 2024 margins by double-digits.
Most surprising was the Republican underperformance in Florida’s 1st District, once held by accused sex pest Matt Gaetz. Rep.-elect Jimmy Patronis won the seat by less than 15 percentage points, after Gaetz carried it by more than 30 points just five months ago. The district is home to a military base and has a large population of federal employees—a group Trump and Musk have targeted since taking office on Jan. 20—which could account for the voter backlash.
According to Politico’s report, Musk's "special government employee" status—which lets him evade ethics rules—was set to expire in late May or early June. But it’s curious that the rumblings that Musk may leave sooner came out a day after it became abundantly clear that Musk could be a serious liability for the GOP in elections in Virginia and New Jersey later this year, as well as the midterm elections in 2026.
Even if Musk officially gives up his position in the Trump administration, Democrats should not let Trump escape Musk’s unpopularity or the damage he’s done through DOGE.
At best, Trump has accepted and approved of the cuts Musk has pushed, and at worst, Trump is using Musk as a shield to avoid being held personally responsible for the pain the cuts are causing. For example, Musk has hobbled the Social Security Administration and made it harder for beneficiaries to receive their payments, slashed thousands of federal jobs that will curtail research for cancer and other illnesses, lead to inaccurate weather reports, and hurt veterans’ health care, among other things.
Musk will also surely still spend in elections to help Republicans. And he is considering giving Trump's midterm political operation a $100 million injection of cash—so his wants will still be carried out by the Trump administration even after he's gone.
What's more, Politico's report says that Musk wouldn't be fully gone even when his “special government employee” status expires. Trump administration officials expect Musk will still have an advisory role.
And most of all, Trump has said over and over again that he approves of the decisions Musk has made, so he owns whatever negative consequences Musk's actions have inflicted.
“I think he's amazing, but I also think he’s got a big company to run. So at some point he’s going to be going back,” Trump said Monday. “He wants to. I’d keep him as long as I could keep him. He’s a very talented guy.”
If Democrats were smart, they’d run those comments in ads next to the negative consequences Musk’s cuts have had.