Democrats prepare congressional probes into Trump’s family businesses, Musk’s government role and corporate ties after midterm losses.
TOI correspondent from Washington: MAGA boss Donald Trump often boasted that Silicon Valley CEOs and corporate titans were falling over themselves to “kiss my ass” as they sought administration patronage. Now that even Republican stalwarts like Ted Cruz have acknowledged the party received an “ass-kicking” in the mid-term election, Trump admirers are hearing about the downside to being attached to the Presidential rump. Even before the votes have been fully counted, Democrat lawmakers are announcing a slew of Congressional investigations into Trump era shenanigans, amid cautionary warnings from some quarters that witchhunts should not derail legislative agenda they are now empowered to lay out.
Wasting no time, California Congressman Robert Garcia, who is expected to chair the House oversight and government reform committee, has identified four principal areas for investigation: Trump's family business dealings, including cryptocurrency ventures (which has ties to Pakistan), corporate corruption and political kickbacks, alleged abuses by the Department of Homeland Security and ICE, and the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. “Lawyer up!” Garcia warned what he described as the "Trump crime family," announcing it would be held accountable for the "largest presidential grift in history." He also said he wants to examine the Trump family's real estate and overseas business interests, including Jared Kushner's investments, adding that family members and senior administration officials, including Stephen Miller, former Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski, should expect questions.
For Trump's corporate courtiers, the next two years could involve plenty of trips to Congressional hearings, none more than for Elon Musk, the Tesla/SpaceX honcho, The world’s richest man spent at least $445 million supporting Republican candidates and political committees during the midterms -- making him the biggest individual donor ever in US election – for paltry returns. Of 43 Republican House candidates he was reported to have backed, just three won. Six of the seven Republican Senate candidates he supported also lost, none worse than Ken Paxton in Texas, where Musk has enormous business interests, and where he spent $230 million only to see Democrat James Talarico romp home.
On Tuesday, Musk had urged his more than 240 million X followers to "Vote red today!" but by Wednesday, that post had disappeared, along with an earlier pinned appeal supporting Republican Senate candidates. His own chatbot Grok confirmed that some posts had been deleted, amid reports that Democrats will be investigating his role in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), its access to sensitive government data, federal workforce cuts, cancelled contracts and the consequences for public services. Musk companies -- Tesla, SpaceX, xAI and others -- could also face scrutiny over federal contracts, subsidies and regulatory decisions. The reported use of Musk's Grok AI system in planning the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is also likely to be scrutinized for use of private technology in military and national-security ops.
Perhaps the most consequential change for corporate America will be in the Senate, where Elizabeth Warren is expected to head the Banking Committee, which, one wag remarked, is like appointing someone who has spent a lifetime studying where the leaks are to inspect the plumbing. Often taunted by Trump as Pocohontas because he felt she falsely claimed Native American heritage, her likely targets are expected to be Trump family’s cryptocurrency interests, particularly World Liberty Financial; the administration's efforts to weaken the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which she helped establish; financial regulators and their treatment of politically connected businesses; and the relationship between major banks and the White House.
Other incoming Democratic committee leaders, including Ron Wyden on Senate Finance and Richard Blumenthal on the Senate investigations subcommittee, are reported to be preparing their own inquiries. Blumenthal has already sought records from technology companies and federal regulators concerning corporate contributions to Trump's proposed White House ballroom and possible connections with favourable government treatment. Companies whose contributions or dealings likely to invite attention include Apple, Meta, Google, Nvidia, Amazon, Microsoft, BlackRock, Lockheed Martin, Palantir and Cisco. Nvidia and Apple reportedly committed $25 million apiece to the project, while Google/Alphabet, helmed by Sundar Pichai, is said to have ponied up $ 22 million and Microsoft, led by Satya Nadella, coughed up $ 10 million.
There is very little the lame-duck President –-- who has often espoused the philosophy of “to the victor goes the spoils” -- can do to escape the scrutiny and investigations. After delivering what even Republican commentator Scott Jennings acknowledged an “ass-whupping” in the mid-terms, Democrats have arrived to spoil the party that the MAGA folks thought would never end.
