Elon Musk, whose Trump administration-endorsed “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) cuts have been challenged (and sometimes successfully blocked) in courtrooms across the country, has donated to several Republican members of Congress who have called for the impeachment of judges issuing those rulings.
Musk has given the maximum allowable amount — $6,600 — to at least seven Republicans who have expressed support for impeaching or taking other actions against those judges. Those lawmakers include Reps. Eli Crane (R-Arizona), Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado), Andy Ogles (R-Tennessee), Andrew Clyde (R-Georgia), Derrick Van Orden (R-Wisconsin) and Brandon Gill (R-Texas), as well as Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
Despite the clear implications of corruption, the Republicans who received the donations from Musk — the world’s richest person — have insisted that there wasn’t a quid pro quo of any kind.
“We didn’t [support impeaching judges] so Elon Musk would give us a campaign donation,” Crane said in an interview about receiving the funds. “But I think it’s great that individuals like Elon are throwing support behind those of us willing to take action.”
Clyde also said that he had “no prior knowledge” that Musk would respond to his calls for impeachment with a donation, but that he is “very thankful that he did.”
Musk has been vocal about his desire to see judges impeached for opposing his and the Trump administration’s actions.
“There needs to be an immediate wave of judicial impeachments, not just one,” Musk wrote in a post on X.
President Donald Trump has also called for judges blocking his orders — including his blatant challenges to the Constitution — to be impeached for engaging in the centuries-old practice of judicial review.
Trump derided Federal District Judge James Boasberg, for example, for placing a temporary block on the use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which the administration was using to expedite deportations. Trump described Boasberg as a “Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge” and claimed that his judicial orders were illegitimate because he didn’t win an election to his position — despite the fact that no federal judges are actually elected.
Notably, although Trump and Republicans are now claiming that judicial orders against executive actions are illegitimate, they were celebratory when judges blocked orders issued by President Joe Biden over the past four years.
While Musk complains about judges blocking his and DOGE’s work, U.S. voters are concerned with the department’s moves to slash federal agencies. A recent Economist/YouGov poll finds that a plurality of Americans (46 percent) believe that the DOGE cuts have “gone too far,” while only a quarter of respondents (25 percent) say they’ve been “about right.” Just 17 percent want the cuts to go even further.
Respondents in the poll also want Musk to have less influence in the Trump administration, with only 15 percent saying they want the billionaire to be involved “a lot,” 27 percent saying they want Musk to influence things “a little,” and 47 percent saying they want him to have no influence at all.
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