Elon Musk and Donald Trump: dynamic antigraft duo

Space Exploration Technologies

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The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
By Jeffrey Goldfarb
NEW YORK, Nov 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Due diligence typically comes before the deal, but Washington is getting around to it after the fact. As Democrats reclaim control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the slew of unsavory business affairs conducted over the past two years will finally be subjected to greater scrutiny. Credit to President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk for any punishments or policy changes that follow.
Corporate boardrooms have been bracing for a backlash. Many are drafting plans to handle anticipated congressional probes into their funding of the commander-in-chief's $400 million White House ballroom. Apple AAPL.O, Lockheed Martin and dozens of others that committed $100,000 to $25 million apiece to the vanity project are likely targets. Others, including Meta Platforms META.O, Coinbase COIN.O and Palantir Technologies PLTR.O, gave to separate presidential pet projects. Document requests and public hearings will involve uncomfortable "pay to play" questions about the possibility of bribery and graft. 
Such investigations will come at a cost: CEO distraction, legal fees and reputational damage. Multiple investments by Trump and his family in everything from drones to cryptocurrency to social media also are destined for deep inquiries that engulf other executives and financiers. Government corruption was top of mind for voters, even more so than inflation, according to a Fox News poll. Elsewhere, a higher price threatens the plutocracy and its influence-purchasing power. The top 1% added more than $11 trillion of net worth during the first 18 months of Trump's term, nearly 30 times as much as the bottom 50% reaped.
Days before the midterm elections, two Democrats unveiled plans to beef up the law on political spending by federal contractors, extending it beyond companies to include management and major shareholders. Since 2024, Musk alone contributed some $750 million to various campaigns and accepted a role in the Trump administration to slash expenses, even as his $3.5 trillion empire signed lucrative deals with government agencies. 
The Pentagon, for one, awarded Musk's SpaceX SPCX.O more than $6 billion to help with the country's missile defense program. Lockheed LMT.N, too, landed a seven-year $35 billion contract in June, while at least a dozen other ballroom donors secured new or increased taxpayer-funded deals during the first half of 2026, according to consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. Private prison operator GEO GEO.N, another big donor to Republicans, has benefited from Trump's deportation crusade.
Musk has more to lose than most, however. His Starlink satellite operation has been embroiled in national security clashes involving Ukraine, prompting former Labor Secretary Robert Reich to urge Democrats to start "laying the groundwork" to nationalize the company. By overtly flaunting the toxic blend of money and politics, Trump and Musk may yet be the greatest catalysts for taking back some power from the oligarchy.
     
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CONTEXT NEWS
Two Democratic legislators said on October 29 that they would introduce legislation to expand existing US law that prevents federal contractors from donating to a political party, candidate or committee to include corporate executives and major shareholders.
Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen and California Representative Robert Garcia pointed to billionaire Elon Musk, who contributed more than $440 million to midterm election races, as a prime target for their "Close the Campaign Cash-for-Contracts Loophole Act." His SpaceX conglomerate, for one, has contracts with the US government.

(Editing by Jennifer Saba; Production by Maya Nandhini)
((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on GOLDFARB/jeffrey.goldfarb@thomsonreuters.com))