Elon Musk Under Pressure to Wrap Up DOGE After GOP Wisconsin Blowout

Source: Newsweek

Published Apr 02, 2025 at 10:50 AM EDT


Elon Musk's sweeping attempt to reshape American politics through a combination of financial firepower and bureaucratic upheaval faltered Tuesday night, as Democrats clinched a key victory in Wisconsin's Supreme Court race and narrowed the gap in two deep-red Florida congressional districts.

Democrats scored a high-profile victory in Wisconsin, where Susan Crawford defeated Trump- and Musk-backed Brad Schimel in the state's judicial race — the sole statewide election before November. The win secured a liberal majority on the state's Supreme Court for at least the next three years and has already sparked quiet panic within Republican circles over Musk's growing political influence in the Trump administration.

While Supreme Court elections had historically drawn limited attention, the recent contest in the Badger state became a pivotal battleground. Musk said the race would determine nothing less than "the future of America and Western Civilization. Most political pundits viewed it in somewhat less dire terms, but still the first big test of the second Trump term—with the potential to reshape the ideological balance of the courts in a key swing state.

The showdown between Crawford and Schimel became the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history, with over $98 million spent. While Musk backed Schimel, George Soros supported Crawford (though to a much smaller degree), turning the race into a political bellwether during Trump's second term.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/elon-musk-under-pressure-wrap-doge-after-gop-wisconsin-blowout-2053938