Republicans are left hoping for calmer waters in Washington after Tesla CEO Elon Musk‘s exit from the administration ballooned into a dramatic and public breakup with President Donald Trump.

Musk’s place at the center of Trump’s orbit had, in some ways, been a boon for Republicans. He not only promised to open his wallet for the 2026 elections, having been the president’s largest benefactor last year, but he also absorbed much of the political blowback to his cost-cutting initiative.

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Democrats pilloried Musk as a bogeyman for the Department of Government Efficiency’s “chainsaw” approach to reform, with his role as a special government employee partially insulating Trump.

Some Republicans still hope for a detente between the two men, although that seemed unlikely on Friday as Trump brushed off the idea of an impending makeup call.

“If he makes peace, he can be useful,” GOP strategist John Feehery said.

But Feehery and other Republicans believe the party is “definitely” better off without Musk if his Thursday tirade against Trump, which first targeted his agenda and then got personal, persists.

Congressional Republicans who had long been supportive of Musk quickly turned on him Thursday as he assaulted their “big, beautiful bill” as a “disgusting abomination,” suggesting his vocal and repeated criticisms were not about its impact on the deficit but a conflict of interest: his desire to keep green energy tax credits intact.

Musk soon began lobbing allegations at Trump, including that his name was in the Epstein files that his administration has slowly begun to release.

“I don’t think Elon knows who he is messing with,” Feehery said of Musk and Trump.

“He might be a billionaire, but pretty much all of his assets are tied up in government projects,” Feehery added. “He needs to stand down.”

The fight has provided fodder for Democrats, who are calling for an investigation into Trump’s alleged connection to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. There is also the risk that Musk, who suggested the creation of a new political party on Thursday, spends against Republicans in 2026.

But the messy breakup between Trump and Musk could also distance Republicans from a polarizing figure whose favorability rating was starting to become a drag on the Trump administration.

As Trump embarked on his second administration, Musk’s approval rating was roughly 44% favorable and 38% unfavorable. As of Friday, those figures had worsened to 40% favorable and 54% unfavorable, according to pollster Nate Silver’s Silver Bulletin.

Musk’s legacy has also been undercut by litigation driven by DOGE’s deep job cuts and shuttering of some federal agencies, which Democrats have seized upon in town halls across the country.

With a clean break, Democrats will have a harder time pairing Musk with Trump after months of calling Musk his “co-president.” His exit from the administration could also settle the negative headlines driven by months of infighting with members of Trump’s Cabinet.

Nonetheless, Democrats remain confident in their strategy of undermining Trump through Musk and are still relishing the bitter fashion in which their relationship ended. Musk’s attacks have also given Democrats fodder to criticize Republicans’ tax bill with his own words.

“From ripping away benefits from grandma, shuttering Social Security offices, and losing the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, there hasn’t been a worse salesman for Trump’s administration than Elon Musk,” Democratic National Committee communications director Rosemary Boeglin said in a statement.

“Now, Musk is brutally attacking Trump’s budget bill in a messy public break up, which is drawing voters’ attention to the Republican scam to rip away healthcare from working people to give rich people tax handouts,” Boeglin added. “The toxic Trump-Musk agenda and this embarrassing feud will drag the GOP down in the midterms.”

It is unclear how influential Musk was with voters, though he claimed Trump was ingrateful for the nearly $300 million he spent supporting the president’s campaign.

David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center, cited a poll he conducted last month that found Musk’s endorsement only determined the votes of 16% of respondents in the 2024 election. Another 74% said Musk’s endorsement was meaningless to them, and 7% added that his endorsement actually made it less likely that they would cast a ballot for his candidate.

Republicans also learned that even Musk’s money could not reliably swing the outcome of a race. In the end, Musk’s favored candidate in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court contest lost by 10 percentage points in April after Musk and his aligned organizations spent millions.

In spite of those setbacks and the broader fallout with Trump, some Republicans are standing by Musk, among them party strategist Cesar Conda, who described Musk as “the GOP’s inner conscience on fiscal conservatism.”

“Elon Musk is the GOP’s crazy uncle ranting and raving about out-of-control spending and debt,” Conda told the Washington Examiner. “He can be a pain in the neck, but Republicans know in their heart of hearts that he is absolutely right: Big government is the source of all of America’s economic and societal woes.”

Reiterating that Republicans “need” Musk in the party, Conda said that he is an “important voice” on debt and spending reform.

“Musk is a great ally on spending reform, and we should expect that the public dispute between President Trump and Elon Musk will cool soon,” he said.

Meanwhile, White House aides were scheduled to speak with Musk on the phone Friday, with Trump telling multiple news outlets that morning that he himself is not seeking to make amends with Musk.

“I won’t be speaking to him for a while, I guess, but I wish him well,” Trump told CNN.

At the same time, Trump did not have any open press events on Friday as the White House attempted to amplify the president’s “big, beautiful bill” and the May jobs report, which found that 139,000 new positions had been added to the economy.

“President Trump is focused on making our country great again and passing the One Big Beautiful Bill,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Washington Examiner.

Musk is also left recovering from his fight with Trump. His company Tesla’s share price recovered by 3 points after decreasing by 14 on Thursday.

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At the same time, some Trump allies are calling for retribution. Steve Bannon, a White House chief political strategist during the president’s first administration, called for an executive order taking government control of Musk’s SpaceX and Starlink companies, as well as investigations into his immigration status, alleged drug use, security clearance, and alleged involvement with the Chinese Communist Party.

On Friday, Trump told reporters that “we’ll take a look at everything” when asked about cutting Musk’s contracts, though he added: “Only if it’s fair … only if it’s to be fair for him and the country.”