Trump Vows to 'Protect' Elon Musk, Floats Preemptive Pardons as Schiff Warns Allies Will Be Held to Account

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he would move to "protect" Elon Musk and would consider issuing preemptive pardons to aides and allies if Democrats win control of Congress in Tuesday's midterm elections and pursue investigations against them.

Trump made the comments in a pretaped interview on the New York Post's "Pod Force One" podcast, published Monday, the day before voters head to the polls.

'We'll have to protect them'

Host Miranda Devine asked Trump about talk among some on the left of arresting Musk, seizing his factories and nationalizing his rocket company, SpaceX.

Trump dismissed the idea. "It won't happen. It's talk. But if it is talk, we'll have to protect them," he said, according to Yahoo News.

Devine also raised Edward Coristine, a former staffer at the Department of Government Efficiency, the cost-cutting effort Musk led early in Trump's second term, who is known by the nickname "Big Balls."

"We just have to protect those people," Trump said, according to The Epoch Times.

Preemptive pardons

Asked whether he would preemptively pardon Musk and others who worked in his administration, Trump pointed to former President Joe Biden, who issued preemptive pardons before leaving office, including to members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Trump said he would do the same if needed, adding, "I did it for J6," a reference to the roughly 1,500 people charged in connection with the Capitol riot whom he pardoned on his first day back in office in 2025.

Trump said Musk would be on the list, according to reports.

Presidential pardons apply only to federal crimes and do not cover state prosecutions or civil cases.

Schiff responds

Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat and a frequent Trump critic, condemned the remarks in a post on X on Monday.

Schiff accused Trump of wanting to give his "cronies and enablers" blanket immunity for any criminal conduct, and said, "They will be held to account for the cost of their corruption," according to Benzinga.

Schiff was among the members of the Jan. 6 committee who received preemptive pardons from Biden.

Democrats eye investigations

Democrats have signaled that if they win control of one or both chambers of Congress, they plan to investigate Musk's leadership of DOGE, his companies' government contracts and his alleged role in disruptions to Starlink satellite internet service used by Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials have reported disruptions in drone operations relying on Starlink amid the war with Russia, according to Benzinga.

Some critics said Devine's characterization of Democratic plans to arrest Musk and nationalize SpaceX overstated what Democratic leaders have proposed. HuffPost described the assertion as baseless.

Musk's election spending

Musk, the world's richest person, has spent heavily in the midterm elections. He has spent at least $71 million supporting Republicans in Senate races in Ohio, Michigan, Texas, Iowa and Maine, according to Yahoo News.

Musk has warned of the consequences of a Democratic victory, and Trump said he did not believe those warnings were wrong.

Trump has repeatedly defended Musk, saying last month that the billionaire "can never do anything wrong."

A complicated relationship

Trump and Musk have had an up-and-down relationship. Musk was one of Trump's biggest backers in the 2024 election and led DOGE in 2025, but the two publicly feuded after Musk left the administration before later reconciling.

Election Day

The comments came on the eve of Tuesday's midterm elections, which will determine control of the House and Senate for the final two years of Trump's term.

Democrats need to gain seats in either chamber to win a majority, which would give them the power to launch investigations and issue subpoenas.

Republicans have argued that Democratic investigations would amount to political retribution, while Democrats say they would be exercising Congress' oversight responsibilities.

What's next

The outcome of Tuesday's elections will determine whether Democrats gain the power to pursue the investigations they have signaled.

Any preemptive pardons Trump might issue would likely face scrutiny from legal experts and Congress, as the practice has become a growing source of political controversy.