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The DOGE Days of Spring

With the handy defeat of Elon Musk’s millions in a Wisconsin Supreme Court race, and his declining popularity, Hill Republicans are finding less to love—or fear—from Trump’s wealthiest sidekick.

elon musk doge
While the threat of Musk’s money may have influenced some votes in Congress, his largesse fell spectacularly short at influencing actual voters in Wisconsin’s state supreme court race earlier this month. Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images
Leigh Ann Caldwell
April 13, 2025

When Elon Musk first incepted the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, Capitol Hill Republicans flocked to him like disciples to some kind of cost-cutting, bureaucracy-dismantling messiah. They filled the largest theater on Capitol Hill to attend his introductory talk, waited in line to ask him questions, and offered up their cell phone numbers for a direct line to the coolest guy in the government. They flew to Mar-a-Lago in hopes of snagging a meeting with him. Here, many thought, was the answer to their prayers of fiscal restraint, the herald of a new political golden age.