Some GOP lawmakers are quietly hoping Elon Musk will soon be out of the spotlight over fears that he’s damaging the party’s electoral chances, according to Politico.
As voters cast their ballots in crucial races in Wisconsin and Florida Tuesday, one House Republican even told the outlet that an “April 1st massacre” would be “a beautiful thing” because it would alert their congressional colleagues to the damage Musk is causing.
In Florida, one special election is being held to replace former Rep. Mike Waltz—who stepped down from the seat to become Trump’s national security adviser and had an unfortunate starring role in Signalgate—while another will be held to fill the vacancy left by Matt Gaetz, Trump’s scandal-scarred first pick for attorney general.
In another major test for the Trump administration Tuesday, control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court will be decided after an almost $100 million race. That ballot has been framed by many as a de facto referendum on Trump’s agenda, with Musk himself pouring millions into a race he described as a “turning point for civilization.”
With polling showing Musk’s unpopularity with voters and angry protests around the country against his government-cutting DOGE task force, some Republican lawmakers wonder how much longer they’ll have to deal with him.
The GOP lawmaker who told Politico that bad results Tuesday would underscore how much Musk is harming the party also said around 26 of their colleagues in the most vulnerable seats will be “watching” the races. “[T]hey’ll decide how they want to be part of the team going forward,” they added.
Another House Republican told the publication that the White House needs to draw a line under Musk and DOGE. “Elon’s work needs to wrap up, and he needs to exit stage left,” they said.
MSNBC’s John Heilemann similarly said on Tuesday’s Morning Joe that the Wisconsin Supreme Court race has “turned into a referendum on Elon Musk,” even more so than the Trump agenda.
“There are Republicans all over Washington who quietly would be perfectly happy to see the Republican lose that race in order to take some of the wind out of Elon Musk’s sails,” Heilemann said.
“There are a lot of Capitol Hill Republicans who are concerned about having an increasingly unpopular Elon Musk put around their neck like an albatross going into the midterm elections,” Heilemann added. “And they would like to be done with him and give the president, President Trump, a sense that perhaps it’s not in his or the party’s best political interest to be seen as the party of Elon Musk.”
He added that losing the Wisconsin race “would have various negative implications for the Republican Party,” but it would also “take Elon Musk down a peg.”
“And I can tell you, as I say, there are a lot of Republicans who wouldn’t mind that happening,” Heilemann said.
Much harder to shake, though, is the financial backing the world’s richest man has provided the president. He has bankrolled his election campaign to the tune of $291 million and poured a further $20 million into Wisconsin for what has become the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history.
Trump also clearly feels some sort of affinity with his “first buddy,” recently calling Musk a “wonderful patriot” who can ask him for a favor “whenever he wants.”
