{"text":[[{"start":10.92,"text":"Elon Musk has become the largest donor to efforts by Republicans to retain control of Congress in November’s pivotal midterm elections, spending more than $275mn on crucial races across the US."}],[{"start":26.4,"text":"The donations by the world’s richest man — who spent almost $300mn helping Donald Trump get re-elected in 2024 — were made over the past few months, a spokesperson said on Monday, as the Republican Party seeks to shore up several struggling Senate and House campaigns."}],[{"start":42.4,"text":"As well as donating tens of millions of dollars to his own America PAC, Musk gave $158mn to the Senate Leadership Fund and $20mn to the Congressional Leadership Fund over the summer, the main Super Pacs supporting Republican Senate and House candidates, according to people familiar with the matter."}],[{"start":60.84,"text":"The enormous sums add to Republicans’ already large financial advantage, with the party’s committees and Trump’s Maga Inc together raising more than $1.1bn, compared with Democrats’ roughly $600mn as of the end of August, according to federal filings."}],[{"start":76.92,"text":"Musk’s contributions to Republicans’ midterm efforts — some of which have not yet been formally disclosed in campaign finance records — were first reported by The New York Times. They come at a time when Trump’s record-low polling numbers have cast a shadow over Republicans’ campaigns."}],[{"start":91.84,"text":"Democrats are broadly expected to flip the House of Representatives in the November 3 election, while the Senate, controlled by Republicans, is viewed as a toss-up."}],[{"start":100,"text":"“If Democrats take control of Washington and win key gubernatorial and attorney-general races this November, then America risks becoming a socialist, woke and borderless country,” said Andrew Romeo, a spokesman for America PAC, echoing one of the Republicans’ central campaign messages."}],[{"start":116.64,"text":"“These robust investments have allowed the GOP apparatus to get its message out so Republicans can have a fighting chance to defy history.”"}],[{"start":124.88,"text":"Musk’s spending via America PAC has been largely in line with the Trump-linked Maga Inc Super Pac, which has a war chest of more than $400mn."}],[{"start":132.98,"text":"America PAC has paid for text messages as well as digital and print adverts targeting Senate races in Michigan, Alaska, Ohio, Iowa, Texas, Maine and New Hampshire and at least a dozen competitive US House races."}],[{"start":148.32,"text":"Musk’s enormous donations mark his return to the Maga fold just over a year after he fell out with the US president and threatened to fund a third party to challenge Republicans."}],[{"start":158.08,"text":"In June 2025, the trillionaire — who led the so-called Department of Government Efficiency that cut thousands of jobs from the federal workforce — fell out with the president over his landmark tax and spending legislation, which he called an “outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill”."}],[{"start":174.64,"text":"He suggested Trump was connected to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and swore off further engagement in frontline politics after Tesla sales appeared to suffer from his association with the administration."}],[{"start":186.54,"text":"But in recent months, Musk has dined at the White House and last week was awarded the National Medal of Science by the president. He has also been chosen to co-lead a review into the modernisation of the Pentagon."}],[{"start":198.42,"text":"The Tesla and SpaceX boss, whose companies have billions of dollars of contracts with the US government, also has business interests that are under federal review."}],[{"start":207.44,"text":"Last week, SpaceX announced it was buying licences for wireless spectrum — a move that will need approval from Trump’s Federal Communications Commission. Musk’s xAI is also one of the signatories to a White House accord under which leading AI companies agreed to third-party audits of their models."}],[{"start":230.4,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1791863313_5247.mp3"}