Trump says he would pardon Musk and aides if Democrats win Congress

The pardon offer

On Monday, 2 November, Trump told the "Pod Force One" podcast, hosted by Miranda Devine, that he would offer pre-emptive pardons to current and former staff if Democrats win control of Congress in the midterm elections on 3 November. Devine asked whether he would pardon everyone who had worked for him and cited Elon Musk, who pushed through the dismissal of thousands of staff in ministries and agencies. Trump said he would "protect" Musk and his team if congressional investigators targeted them. Asked about reports that Musk might be investigated and have his assets seized, he replied:

“It's talk. But if it is talk, we'll have to protect them.”

Trump added that he would pardon people beyond Musk if Democrats opened investigations, saying "I would if I needed to. Sure." He pointed to Joe Biden, who pardoned his son Hunter and several government officials before leaving office, and to his own pardons of hundreds of supporters prosecuted over the 2021 Capitol attack, granted on his first day back in office in January 2025. Trump also said he would use his veto against unwanted bills if Democrats win majorities, but he was open to deals after one or two months of blocked legislation.

Musk's donations

An analysis by Theodore Schleifer for The New York Times, built from Federal Election Commission, Internal Revenue Service and state filings, counts $474 million that Musk has given to political groups since 1 January 2025. Only Michael Bloomberg spent more in a single cycle, in 2020, apart from wealthy candidates funding their own campaigns. A separate figure of over $445 million, based on Federal Election Commission filings obtained by Bloomberg, includes $77 million put into America PAC in the first half of October alone.

America PAC216

Senate Leadership Fund168

Other Republican groups and candidates44

Congressional Leadership Fund30

State efforts in Michigan, Texas and Wisconsin16

America PAC

216 $ million

Senate Leadership Fund

168 $ million

Other Republican groups and candidates

44 $ million

Congressional Leadership Fund

30 $ million

State efforts in Michigan, Texas and Wisconsin

16 $ million

Data from the article text

America PAC, Musk's own super PAC, received about $216 million, and the Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC for Senate Republicans, got $168 million, almost all of it effectively backing Ken Paxton, the Republican Senate nominee in Texas. Counting America PAC's disclosed spending, the Times found about $212 million went behind Paxton. The Times says its total is almost certainly too low, because it leaves out dark-money gifts and federal records end on 14 October, missing the final three weeks of the campaign.

In May 2025, Musk said he would pull back from political spending.

“I think I've done enough.”

What Democrats could do

If Democrats take Congress, committees could open investigations, summon government members to hearings and call current and former staff to testify, but they could not start criminal investigations in the narrower sense. House Oversight Democrats are reportedly preparing to target Musk over his campaign contributions and his government cost-cutting work. Representative Greg Casar, a Texas Democrat on that committee, told Politico's Playbook newsletter that oversight should cover the Trump administration and also corporations and ultra-rich people who had tried to corrupt government. On Friday, 30 October, Musk wrote on X that a Republican Senate majority was crucial to prevent a permanent one-party state under Democrats. Axios reported that polls increasingly point to a significant blue wave, and that Trump is preparing for a combative final two years in the White House.