"People saw the money being spent": Jasmine Crockett says wealthy elites bought the Trump presidency

When asked to describe how government corruption impacts everyday Americans, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, had one answer: look no further than the re-election of President Donald Trump.

The congresswoman pointed to tech billionaire and former Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk pouring over $250 million into the president’s 2024 campaign and reaping the benefits — in power and new government contracts — when Trump took office. Meanwhile, she argued, Trump and the nation’s Republican-controlled Congress intend to cut billions of dollars from social services like Medicaid, Social Security and SNAP with no regard for the Americans it will hurt.

“People saw the money being spent on the election, but I don't think that they connected the dots until now,” Crockett said. “And I don't think that there's ever been a clearer picture.”

Crockett described the harmful connection between big money and politics alongside former Sen. Jon Tester, the three-term Montana Democrat unseated in the November election, during a virtual town hall hosted Tuesday by Democratic political action committee End Citizens United. The organization, which held the event to celebrate its 10th anniversary, supports candidates who champion campaign finance reform; it strives to overturn Citizens United, a 2010 Supreme Court decision that loosened restrictions on the amount of independent expenditure groups could contribute to candidates during elections. 

Throughout the event, Crockett and Tester drew connections between what they described as their Republican colleagues’ self-dealing, the political contributions that put them in office and the toll those actions ultimately have on Americans. Tester focused particularly on the House’s passage last month of the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which would slash hundreds of billions of dollars in funding for Medicaid, SNAP and other social programs if enacted.  

“Are they taking up issues that really help regular folks, like making health care more affordable, or housing more affordable, or education more affordable?” Tester said. “No, they're taking up issues that really grease the pockets of the uber-rich in this country at the expense of the folks who need these programs the most.”

The former senator also criticized Musk, who has since blasted the spending bill, over his role in leading Trump’s effort to curtail federal bureaucracy and eliminate excess government spending. 

“As Elon Musk was running around trashing the government — cutting this, cutting that, cutting this — did he cut the $38 billion that he received from the federal government? Hell no, he didn't,” Tester added. “And the truth … is that’s the kind of stuff that's going on right now. You rip apart programs that have been around for generations. Why? To give the folks who paid for these campaigns big tax breaks.” 

Crockett rejected the notion that all politicians are corrupt regardless of party, arguing that Democrats' actions “have not come anywhere near” the “blatant lawlessness coming directly” from their Republican colleagues. But, she said, the distrust in politicians comes down to the amount of information the public takes in about the candidates they elect. 

“A lot of times we can't break through the noise if you have so much money that is pouring in, and it's literally sending out misinformation and disinformation,” Crockett said, pointing to Musk and other megadonors’ money going to ads spreading false claims about former Vice President Kamala Harris' proposed policy during her brief presidential bid. 

That political noise is also why the Citizens United decision matters, she added. 

The 5-4 ruling along ideological lines reversed century-old campaign finance restrictions, permitting corporations and other groups to spend money on elections without limits. The decision resulted in the emergence of wealthy megadonors and special interest groups increasingly exerting more influence over election outcomes — and the politicians they back — than before, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. 

Start your day with essential news from Salon. Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.

“It is about breaking through the noise,” Crockett said, calling on her Democratic colleagues to scream the criticisms they have of Republicans from the rooftops. “It is very difficult to break through the noise if the noise is singularly focused on, say, making sure that Elon Musk can still make $8 million a day while that hungry child or that hungry mother can't access $6 a day to eat. That is the difference. That is the stark difference in who it is that we are fighting for.”

Crockett also left attendees with a call to action, asking that they remain “tuned in” to local elections every year in the face of voter suppression bills and special-interest spending at the federal level. She also urged viewers to “harness their influence” within their communities to engage everyone politically. The power belongs to the people, she said.

“They want you to feel helpless, they want you to feel hopeless, and if you feel that way, then you literally are playing into their hand,” Crockett said. “The scariest thing about the people is literally your power."