Elon Musk will face scrutiny from Democrats after midterms

Elon Musk gave more than $445 million to Republican candidates, political action committees and outside groups, according to federal election filings but most of the candidates he backed on Tuesday lost. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption Elon Musk wasn't on Tuesday's ballot, but he stands to lose a lot from Democrats' sweeping midterm victories in the House and Senate. In no state was this more acutely felt than in Texas, home to the headquarters of Musk's companies and where he spent more than $200 million, according to federal filings, in a mission to sway the Senate race in the Republican candidate's favor. With a Democratic majority in Congress, the billionaire, who controls Tesla and SpaceX, will likely face investigations into the billions of dollars of government contracts his companies have been awarded since President Trump returned to office and his role leading the Department of Government Efficiency at the beginning of Trump's second term. Musk gave more than $445 million to Republican candidates, political action committees and outside groups, according to federal election filings analyzed by OpenSecrets , a nonprofit that tracks campaign spending. That makes him the top donor in the midterms and among the very largest political donors in American history. The central question Democratic lawmakers say they want answered is whether Musk used his influence inside the Trump administration to benefit his own businesses, and whether taxpayer money, government data and public institutions were put at risk in the process. During the four months Musk led DOGE, he received at least $6.3 billion in government contracts. Since then, he has gained at least another $10 billion in government contracts, according to the Democracy Defenders Fund , a legal advocacy nonprofit. He is trying to buy Texas," said James Talarico, who defeated Paxton in the Senate race, at a campaign rally in Lubbock last month.