President Donald Trump said he would consider issuing preemptive pardons to billionaire Elon Musk and other White House aides to protect them from potential investigations if Democrats take control of the House of Representatives after the midterm elections.
“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 when asked about the possibility of House Democrats arresting Musk and seizing his assets if they gain power.
Trump said he would pardon Musk, a close ally, and other aides if he believed it was necessary to protect them, even if they had not been formally charged with any crimes.
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“That’s what Biden did. He gave everybody a pardon,” Trump said. “I would if I needed to, sure. I wouldn’t even think about it. I did it for J6,” he added, referring to pardons related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The Trump administration has awarded Musk’s companies several additional contracts during the president’s second term that Democrats could investigate for potential preferential treatment. These include a $5.9 billion SpaceX contract with the U.S. Space Force to help build a “space launch architecture,” a $2.29 billion contract to develop a “space data network” and a $200 million Pentagon contract with Musk’s xAI to help integrate artificial intelligence into military operations, among others.
Democrats could also investigate allegations that Musk restricted Starlink satellite access in Ukraine to pressure the country to end its war with Russia, that he pressured the Federal Aviation Administration to back out of a contract with Verizon in favor of Starlink, and the cost-cutting measures he led through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
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The comments come ahead of the Nov. 3 U.S. midterm elections, in which Democrats are considered strong favorites to take control of the House. Musk, the world’s richest person, has contributed $474 million to support Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections, according to The New York Times. That includes $212 million to support Texas Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton.
President Joe Biden issued several pardons to people who had been targets of Trump’s criticism before leaving office in 2025, seeking to shield them from potential investigations by the incoming administration. Trump has also exercised his presidential pardon powers several times during his second term, most notably by pardoning people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. He has also pardoned dozens of business figures convicted of white-collar crimes.