Head Start For The Billionaire Class, Dead End For The Rest Of Us

Welcome To Techno-Feudalism: Romulus, Musk & The American Decline

Van Orden and pal

Yesterday, People revealed the name of one of Elon Musk’s latest offspring: Romulus, who came about when he knocked up Ashley St. Clair, 26-year-old influencer. Romulus has at least 33 half-brothers and sisters from various mothers. And none of them will ever need programs like Head Start… another program the Trump-Musk administration is trying to abolish.

They seem to realize that it’s going to take Congress’ active help— more than just their aquiescence— to succeed with some of the Project 2025 agenda. So… Musk is trying to buy members’ blind obedience. Yesterday, Clara Morse and Trisha Thadani reported that in late March, Musk spent $144,400 bribing the lowest hanging fruit— “Republican members of Congress who endorsed legislation to impeach judges or restrict their power.” (And keep in mind that “The reports, filed by principal campaign committees of the members, reflect only a partial picture of Musk’s political spending in the first three months of 2025. Other contribution outlets controlled by Musk, including his America PAC, are not required to file until the end of July.”)

$144,400 is a lot for a few midterm congressional races but it’s like a visit to a coffee shop for Musk— equivalent to donating about $3.60 to be precise; literally! Spending $144,400 foran average American would be like spending nearly 2 years’ worth of income, whereas for Musk, it’s a fraction of a second’s worth of his wealth accumulation. If Musk’s wealth grows by $10 billion in a year— a conservative estimate given past gains— that’s $27.4 million per day, so $144,400 is about 5 seconds of wealth growth. “While the amount is a fraction of the millions he shelled out for Republican candidates before the November election,” wrote Morse and Thadani, “the spending so early in the 2026 midterm cycle further cements the billionaire’s long-term involvement in GOP politics despite a decisive loss for his preferred candidate in this month’s Wisconsin Supreme Court race.” [They forgot to mention that democracy is impossible with billionaires freely buying elections and they failed to explain that billionaires should be— must be— taxed out of existence.]

Musk gave close to the legal per-race maximum of $6,600 to 21 House members, all of whom had sponsored or co-sponsored resolutions to impeach judges or restrict their power. A GOP-led Congress is not expected to vote on impeaching any judges because the issue lacks overwhelming support, but several impeachment resolutions have been filed. For weeks, Musk has used Twitter to target judges who ruled against the Trump administration.

Musk has taken particular aim at Chief Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, who has ruled against the Trump administration in a number of cases and is now launching contempt charges against some of its officials. Musk wrote on Twitter that Boasberg is a “radical activist cosplaying as a judge.” Musk did not respond to a request for comment.

In some cases, Musk’s donation came immediately after House members filed or endorsed legislation targeting certain judges.

[Lunatic fringe extremist] Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) filed a resolution to impeach Boasberg on March 18 and posted a photo to Twitter, writing that Boasberg was “guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors and should be removed from office.” Musk shared Gill’s post on Twitter that day, and records show Gill’s committee received $6,600 from Musk the following day. Musk went on to give donations to 18 other of the bill’s 22 co-sponsors.

Musk also donated to Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI), who introduced legislation to impeach U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, and to Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), who introduced legislation in the House aiming to limit judges’ power to issue injunctions. Musk also contributed to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, who has criticized committee was “taking action” to limit judicial power.

…Musk— who has shown a unique willingness to push the political and legal boundaries of campaigning— heavily inserted himself into the Wisconsin Supreme Court race earlier this year. He and groups linked to him donated $20 million to the Republican-backed candidate, Brad Schimel. Musk also reprised controversial gimmicks he used in the presidential election, such as paying registered voters $100 each for signing a petition and awarding some signers $1 million.

Musk’s involvement galvanized the Democratic base’s support for candidate Susan Crawford, whose team saw Musk as the perfect villain to campaign against. Crawford beat Schimel 55 percent to 44 percent. The bruising loss led some Republicans to question whether Musk would be an asset or liability going forward as they fight to retain their majorities in Congress in 2026.

Musk has become the most polarizing figure of Trump’s second term, as he oversees dramatic cuts and sweeping layoffs within the federal government through his U.S. DOGE Service. His electric vehicle company, Tesla, has also been the target of widespread protests around the globe.

Despite the loss in Wisconsin, people familiar with Musk and his political action committee previously told The Post that he plans to remain deeply involved in boosting GOP candidates.

Tyler Brown, a longtime Republican strategist and former director of digital strategy for the Republican National Committee, said that while Democrats see the Wisconsin race as a referendum on Musk, the billionaire’s PAC gained valuable experience to apply in upcoming campaigns.

“The more important thing is that they continue to gain experience, analyze opportunities and self assess. That is going to pay dividends in preparation for elections in 2025 and 2026,” said Brown, founder of Hadron Strategies.

Emily Berge, the progressive Democrat taking on Van Orden in WI-03 this cycle noted that “The people of Wisconsin didn't allow the State Supreme Court to be bought and paid for by Elon Musk. We came together, canvassed, talked to our neighbors, made calls across the state and showed up for Democracy to elect Susan Crawford to the State Supreme Court. We showed the nation that people matter more than millions and when we come together we can do amazing things. We need to keep this energy going. No one is going to save us. We need to save ourselves. And that is what we are doing.”

This is what oligarchy looks like— not just grotesque wealth disparity, but the active dismantling of the social contract by a man who treats children like trading cards and democracy like a speed bump. Romulus won’t be part of Head Start because his father is busy torching it— along with every other public good that threatens the supremacy of the billionaire caste. The Trump-Musk axis isn’t just about policy; it’s about power without restraint, wealth without responsibility, and governance without the governed. It’s techno-feudalism wrapped in an American flag and smeared in social media sludge.

And let’s not kid ourselves: these campaign donations aren’t donations— they’re down payments on autocracy. Musk isn’t just buying influence; he’s buying compliance, stacking the deck so the next time Project 2025 rolls through Congress, no one blinks. If Democrats— and any Republicans with a spine left— don’t start calling this what it is, we’ll be watching our institutions auctioned off to the highest bidder while the Romuluses of the world inherit a privatized dystopia and the rest of us get crumbs... if we’re lucky.