President Donald Trump and Elon Musk have apparently reconciled following their bitter feud last year, setting the stage for Musk to back Republicans’ 2026 election efforts.
The tech billionaire, who entered Trump’s government last January with the goal of eliminating government waste, was seen dining with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday, just hours before announcing his Starlink satellites would be deployed to help Venezuelans stay connected following the removal of President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces.
“Had a lovely dinner last night with @POTUS and @FLOTUS,” Musk posted on X with a photo of the dinner. “2026 is going to be amazing!”
Had a lovely dinner last night with @POTUS and @FLOTUS.
2026 is going to be amazing! pic.twitter.com/1Oq35b1PEC
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 4, 2026
The former director of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, was the top donor to Republicans in 2024, giving $291.5 million. He left the administration in May while feuding with Trump and talked about starting his own party but later relinquished the idea.
The feud was so intense that Trump accused Musk of being “disrespectful to the office of the president” in June and said he was “too busy doing other things” to reach out to the tech mogul.
However, in August Trump said Musk was ultimately “a good person” who “had a bad moment,” and in September they were seen sitting together and speaking during Charlie Kirk’s memorial service.
Musk also attended a White House dinner for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in November and is now dining with the Trumps, signaling a renewed relationship.
Musk posted Thursday that “America is toast if the radical left wins. They will open the floodgates to illegal immigration and fraud. Won’t be America anymore.”
America is toast if the radical left wins.
They will open the floodgates to illegal immigration and fraud.
Won’t be America anymore. https://t.co/9lppGuSyAV
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 1, 2026
Axios reported in December that Musk was funding Republican campaigns for 2026 and was “firmly back in the GOP’s camp.” The scope of Musk’s giving will be unveiled when campaign finance reports are released near the end of this month.
Republicans hold a slim 51-49 majority in the Senate and a 218-213 edge in the House – a number that was two higher before the resignation of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, and the death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-California, on Tuesday.
There are also two open seats, one in Texas expected to go to Democrats and a swing district in New Jersey that was held by Republicans until Mikie Sherrill, who was recently elected governor, flipped it in 2018.
Republican control of Congress played a vital role in helping Trump advance his agenda, including the sweeping “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” budget, which was signed over the summer. But Democrats used their close numbers in the Senate to shut the government down for 43 days in the fall.
The president’s party typically loses seats in Congress during midterm elections, such as in Trump’s first term, when Democrats took the House while Republicans added two seats to their Senate majority. In 2022, Republicans retook control of the House under President Joe Biden, while Democrats added one Senate seat to their narrow majority.
