Musk Is a Majority-Maker, and He Won’t Let Congress Forget It
Republicans have the world’s richest man to thank — at least in part — for helping them secure the slimmest majority in 95 years.
Elon Musk and his son at the Capitol, where the billionaire has been called “probably the most persuasive person roaming the halls.”
Photographer: Al Drago/BloombergMike Johnson, fresh off a narrow reelection as US House speaker, now commands the slimmest congressional majority since 1930. It beats being in the minority, which is where Republicans seemed headed if not — at least partly — for a late infusion of cash from Elon Musk.
A political action committee controlled by the world’s richest man spent $19.2 million in the final six weeks of the 2024 election to back Republicans in too-close-to-call races around the country, according to public reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. Ten of the PAC’s 18 chosen candidates won, flipping seats in Colorado and Alaska, claiming a vacancy in Michigan and holding off stiff challenges in Iowa, Nebraska and New York.