Trump considers pre-emptive pardons for Elon Musk if Democrats win Congress

US President Donald Trump said on Monday, he would consider preemtive pardons for Elon Musk and aides, if Democrats regain majority in the Congress following the midterm election. He claimed that it was what his predecessor Joe Biden had did to protect his aides.

Trump made the remarks in an interview released Monday on the "Pod Force One" podcast. Host Miranda Devine asked him about rumors that Democrats could investigate Musk or seize his assets. Trump called the talk overblown but said that if it came to it, “we'll have to protect them.”

"It's talk, but if it is talk, we'll have to protect them," Trump said in a podcast interview with the New York Post.
He pointed to former President Joe Biden's pardons of members of the House committee that investigated the January 6 Capitol attack. Bloomberg reported that Trump also named aides who could be targeted, including Edward Coristine, a former DOGE staffer.

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Democrats have signaled they would examine Musk's ties to the administration if they win a chamber. Possible subjects include federal contracts awarded to his companies, among them a $5.9 billion SpaceX deal, as well as Starlink's role in Ukraine and the DOGE spending cuts. Musk has warned he would fight any such probes. He has also spent heavily on Republican campaigns this cycle.

Musk spent nearly $290 million to help Trump in the 2024 Presidential election and according to NYT he has poured in a staggering $474 million to boost Republicans in the 2026 midterm election,
Almost all major opinion polls show Democrats well positioned to flip the House on Tuesday and also increasing suggesting the same for Congress. Presidents can pardon people for federal offenses before charges are filed. A pardon would not cover state-level cases, and a House majority would mainly give Democrats subpoena and oversight powers, not prosecutorial ones.