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Who Are Elon Musk’s Friends, Investors and Family?

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Who Are Elon Musk’s Friends, Investors and Family?

Peter ThielLarry EllisonJoe RoganMaye MuskGwynne ShotwellStephen MillerNelson PeltzDonald Trump

A look at the people who influence the world’s richest man, and those who stand to gain from their association with him now.

Elon Musk occupies a rare place at the center of American power.

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As the “first buddy,” he has won the ear of President-elect Donald J. Trump, having spent over $250 million in the final months of 2024 to help him get elected. Mr. Musk has appeared in family photos at Mar-a-Lago and joined Mr. Trump on calls with world leaders and chief executives.

Mr. Musk has never had more influence over business, global politics and the American democratic system. He helped kill bipartisan legislation in Congress to avoid a government shutdown, though a bill was later passed.

Where does he go from here?

These are the people who influence Mr. Musk right now, and those whom he influences in turn. They are longtime friends, investors, staff members or party buddies — and sometimes, those boundaries blur.

They shape how Mr. Musk operates and views the world. Many have propped him up, in the good times and the bad, and some now stand to gain from his new position in U.S. politics.

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The BackersSteve JurvetsonMarc AndreessenShaun MaguireJohn HeringPeter ThielRoelof BothaLarry EllisonThe FriendsAntonio GraciasKen HoweryMichael KivesLuke NosekDavid SacksSriram KrishnanJoe LonsdaleRupert MurdochJames MurdochJoe GebbiaJason CalacanisMichael DellAri EmanuelRobin RenJoe RoganThe FamilyKimbal MuskJames MuskErrol MuskTosca MuskGrimesX Æ A-12 MuskJustine Wilson MuskTalulah RileyShivon ZilisMaye MuskThe LieutenantsAlex SpiroChris YoungTerrence J. O’ShaughnessyMark JuncosaOmead AfsharTim HughesIra EhrenpreisJared BirchallJehn BalajadiaLinda YaccarinoRobyn DenholmTom ZhuFranz von HolzhausenRoss NordeenSteve DavisGwynne ShotwellThe Trump WorldAlex LorussoTucker CarlsonVivek RamaswamyStephen MillerNelson PeltzDonald Trump
Elon musk's head

These people have fueled Mr. Musk and his businesses. Over the years, they’ve invested millions of dollars in SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink, the Boring Company, X and xAI. Some have gained board seats or become close friends with Mr. Musk for their loyalty.

Steve Jurvetson

Mr. Jurvetson is a longtime Silicon Valley venture capitalist and was an early investor in Mr. Musk’s SpaceX, where he is a board member. He is also a superfan of Mr. Musk’s. On a podcast in 2020, he praised the billionaire for being “the greatest gift of the American dream living right now.”

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Marc Andreessen

The venture capitalist is one of Mr. Musk’s big financial supporters in Silicon Valley: His firm, Andreessen Horowitz, has backed SpaceX, X and xAI.

Shaun Maguire

A partner at Sequoia Capital, Mr. Maguire led the firm’s deals into Mr. Musk’s SpaceX, X, xAI and Boring Company, a tunneling venture. He has played a big role in Mr. Musk’s work during the presidential transition.

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John Hering

Mr. Hering, a venture capitalist, invests in Mr. Musk’s companies and has become a trusted adviser. Recently, Mr. Hering has spent time in Palm Beach, Fla., helping with the presidential transition.

Peter Thiel

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Mr. Thiel and Mr. Musk are members of the so-called PayPal Mafia, a group of founders and early employees of the payments company. While Mr. Thiel helped oust Mr. Musk from the company decades ago, he has recently become a political ally and supporter. Vice President-elect JD Vance once worked for Mr. Thiel’s venture capital firm, and Mr. Thiel was the one who introduced the running mates.

Roelof Botha

A fellow South African, Mr. Botha was a member of the PayPal Mafia. Now, as the managing partner of Sequoia Capital, he oversees the venture firm’s various investments into Mr. Musk’s companies, including X and xAI.

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Larry Ellison

Mr. Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle, is a self-described good friend of Mr. Musk’s and has taken part in some Trump transition meetings. When Mr. Musk bought Twitter in 2022, Mr. Ellison committed $1 billion to the deal.

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Mr. Musk’s friends come from different areas of his life. Some started as colleagues or investors, but later developed personal relationships with the billionaire — to the point where they’ve attended Burning Man or vacationed together.

Mr. Musk has also grown close with a number of figures in the tech scene around Austin, where he has been relocating some of his companies’ operations to, away from the San Francisco area.

Antonio Gracias

Mr. Gracias is one of Mr. Musk’s oldest friends; he was an early investor in SpaceX, Tesla and other companies, and he helped fund a pro-Trump super PAC started by Mr. Musk.

Ken Howery

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A co-founder of PayPal, Mr. Howery is very involved in Republican politics. He and Mr. Musk are part of the same social circles in Austin.

Michael Kives

Mr. Musk has sometimes stayed with Mr. Kives, a Hollywood agent and Democratic financier, when he is in Los Angeles.

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Luke Nosek

A close friend in Texas now and active in conservative politics, Mr. Nosek is one of the several entrepreneurs who helped start PayPal.

David Sacks

A PayPal Mafia associate, Mr. Sacks is a longtime friend who has grown closer to Mr. Musk after the acquisition of Twitter and his rightward political shift. Mr. Sacks has been picked to a tech position in Mr. Trump’s White House.

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Sriram Krishnan

A former venture capitalist at Andreessen Horowitz, Mr. Krishnan was part of the crew that took over Twitter after Mr. Musk bought it. President-elect Trump recently tapped him to work with Mr. Sacks on artificial intelligence initiatives.

Joe Lonsdale

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A co-founder of the software company Palantir, which has numerous Defense Department contracts, Mr. Lonsdale provided guidance to Mr. Musk’s pro-Trump super PAC and has helped advise the world’s richest man on the presidential transition.

Rupert Murdoch

Mr. Musk dined at Mr. Murdoch’s apartment just before Election Day. The media mogul has remained close with Mr. Musk even as his flagship newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, has reported critically on him.

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James Murdoch

A current Tesla board member, as well as a SpaceX investor and a son of Rupert Murdoch’s, James Murdoch and Mr. Musk are friends who have vacationed together.

Joe Gebbia

A former Airbnb executive, Mr. Gebbia sits on Tesla’s board and is also part of the crowd that Mr. Musk hangs out with in Austin.

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Jason Calacanis

A start-up investor and podcaster, Mr. Calacanis has been a longtime supporter of Mr. Musk’s from the early days at Tesla. He has attended Burning Man with Mr. Musk and most recently advised the billionaire during the takeover of Twitter.

Michael Dell

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The billionaires have become closer as Mr. Musk has made Austin his home base. Mr. Dell has voiced his support of the government efficiency department and is developing computing infrastructure to help power Mr. Musk’s xAI.

Ari Emanuel

The Hollywood media mogul has grown close to Mr. Musk, who once sat on the board of his company, Endeavor. The SpaceX chief has vacationed with Mr. Emanuel and attended his wedding. Endeavor has also invested in X.

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Robin Ren

Mr. Ren attended the University of Pennsylvania with Mr. Musk, who considered him to be better at physics during that time. Mr. Ren went on to work at Tesla as a vice president of business development and, for a time, led the company’s expansion into China. He also invested in Mr. Musk’s Twitter takeover.

Joe Rogan

The popular podcaster has hung out with Mr. Musk in Austin. Mr. Musk has appeared on his show five times in the last six years.

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Mr. Musk has a large, complicated family. He has fathered at least 12 children with three different partners. He sometimes mixes business with family matters. His brother has sat on the boards of his companies, while his mother and young son have sat in on meetings for his companies and for his newly formed Department of Government Efficiency.

Kimbal Musk

Kimbal, Mr. Musk’s brother, has been a close confidant for years. He runs a restaurant business in Denver, but has long been involved in Elon’s companies: He was an early SpaceX and Tesla board member, in addition to advising on smaller endeavors.

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James Musk

Mr. Musk’s younger cousin James now works as a trust engineer at X, after following Mr. Musk from company to company.

Errol Musk

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Mr. Musk told a biographer that he and his father, Errol, are sometimes estranged, but Errol has said the two are in frequent contact. He has visited his son in Texas.

Tosca Musk

Mr. Musk’s sister, Tosca, is the head of a production company that focuses on adapting romance novels and erotic fan fiction. She has been a big Democratic donor, and helped host a fund-raiser for Stacey Abrams, the 2022 Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Georgia.

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Grimes

The pop singer, born Claire Boucher, is the mother of three of Mr. Musk’s children and has been engaged in custody battles wtih him.

X Æ A-12 Musk

Mr. Musk’s eldest son with Grimes, the four-year-old X, as he is commonly known, has been a frequent presence with his father at his companies’ various offices and at Mar-a-Lago.

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Justine Wilson Musk

Mr. Musk’s first wife and the mother of five of his eldest children, she helps parent some of those children with him. (Though one of the children, Vivian, has cut off ties with her father.)

Talulah Riley

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Ms. Riley, an actress, is Mr. Musk’s second wife, having married and divorced him twice. They remain in contact.

Shivon Zilis

A former venture capitalist and current executive at Neuralink, Ms. Zilis is the mother of at least three children with Mr. Musk. She has been spotted at Mar-a-Lago after the election.

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Maye Musk

Mr. Musk’s mother, a model and dietitian, frequently attends social and political events with her son.

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With Mr. Musk leading six different companies, he’s kept a small circle of trusted advisers and deputies across those organizations to maintain operations. Some of these men and women have worked with Mr. Musk for more than a decade and joined Tesla or SpaceX in the early days, when neither company was a guaranteed success. Some of these lieutenants move from job to job with Mr. Musk as he deploys them on the latest issue he’s deemed important.

Alex Spiro

Mr. Spiro, an attorney with high-profile clients, notably defended Mr. Musk in a defamation lawsuit after the billionaire called a British cave explorer a “pedo guy” on Twitter in 2018. Recently, Mr. Spiro has become Mr. Musk’s attack dog against government regulators.

Chris Young

Mr. Young, a top Republican field operative, was hired to be Mr. Musk’s political adviser earlier this year. They did not know each other before the election, but Mr. Young has led Mr. Musk’s tactical work in Republican politics.

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Terrence J. O’Shaughnessy

Mr. O’Shaughnessy, a retired Air Force general known as “Shags,” is one of Mr. Musk’s top lieutenants at SpaceX. He was recently pushed as a candidate for a Defense Department job.

Mark Juncosa

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As the vice president of vehicle engineering at SpaceX, Mr. Juncosa has worked his way up the ranks in his more than 13 years at the company. He is one of Mr. Musk’s most trusted engineers.

Omead Afshar

Mr. Afshar, one of Mr. Musk’s right-hand men, previously oversaw the construction of Tesla’s factory in Austin, and is now involved with the production of the Starship rocket at SpaceX.

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Tim Hughes

As a senior government affairs executive at SpaceX, Mr. Hughes has become vital to Mr. Musk as the company has looked to spread its influence and its satellite internet service, Starlink, outside the United States. Mr. Musk has put forth Mr. Hughes as a potential hire for the Department of Defense.

Ira Ehrenpreis

A current Tesla board member, Mr. Ehrenpreis helped push through a controversial pay package at Tesla that helped make Mr. Musk the richest man in the world.

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Jared Birchall

Mr. Birchall, a former wealth manager at Morgan Stanley, is the longtime head of Mr. Musk’s family office, as well as of the Musk Foundation. He has also been advising the presidential transition.

Jehn Balajadia

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Though she has the title of “operations coordinator” at the Boring Company, Ms. Balajadia is effectively Mr. Musk’s secretary, helping him with day-to-day tasks and scheduling. She often follows him as he travels, and was ever-present during his acqusition of Twitter.

Linda Yaccarino

A former executive at NBCUniversal, Ms. Yaccarino is the chief executive of X — and often parrots his political views and talking points.

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Robyn Denholm

As the chair of Tesla’s board, the Australian business executive has exerted little oversight over Mr. Musk, who had to step down from his role as chairman after his fight with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2018.

Tom Zhu

A senior vice preisdent at Tesla who oversees much of the company’s operations in China, an increasingly important market for the electric automaker.

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Franz von Holzhausen

The lead designer at Tesla, he has been known to appear onstage with Mr. Musk during launch events. He has worked at the company for nearly 16 years and is one of Tesla’s longest-serving employees.

Ross Nordeen

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One of Musk’s most trusted engineers, he has moved from Tesla to X and now to xAI. He has worked closely with Mr. Musk’s cousin James.

Steve Davis

Few people on this list have earned Mr. Musk’s trust more than Mr. Davis, who is often called upon to help with special situations. Mr. Davis, who by day is an executive at the Boring Company, has effectively led Mr. Musk’s work on the presidential transition.

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Gwynne Shotwell

The second most powerful person at SpaceX, she has overseen the day-to-day operations of the rocket company as it has grown to be a major contractor of NASA and the Defense Department.

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Mr. Musk’s introduction into the MAGA world has been swift, after his public endorsement of Mr. Trump’s candidacy in July. Since the election, Mr. Musk has become almost inseparable from the president-elect, building fast friendships not only with Mr. Trump, but also with some of his closest advisers. These alliances will become even more important, as Mr. Musk has said he will push to slash federal spending with his government efficiency organization.

Alex Lorusso

A business partner of Benny Johnson’s, the conservative media personality, Mr. Lorusso was a paid consultant for Mr. Musk’s super PAC. Mr. Lorusso is one of the several-high profile conservative voices who was once barred on Twitter and later reinstated by Mr. Musk.

Tucker Carlson

Before leaving Fox News, Mr. Carlson interviewed Mr. Musk for one of his last shows. Since then, the pair have bonded. Mr. Carlson posts episodes of his new online show on X, and has become one of Mr. Musk’s biggest defenders in media.

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Vivek Ramaswamy

Leading up to the election, the pharmaceutical entrepreneur turned Republican presidential candidate was frequently cited online by Mr. Musk. Now, the two will be the co-leaders of the government efficiency department in an attempt to slash $2 trillion from the federal budget.

Stephen Miller

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Mr. Musk has backed some of Mr. Miller’s prior political work. And the Trump senior adviser, known for his vocal stances on immigration issues that Mr. Musk cares deeply about, has worked side-by-side with the billionaire during the transition.

Nelson Peltz

Mr. Peltz has described himself as the “matchmaker” between Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk. Mr. Peltz, an activist investor, hosted a dinner at his home in Palm Beach this February where Mr. Musk first voiced his desire to become involved with the election.

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Donald Trump

Though they did not know each other well six months ago, the two have appeared insperable since the election. Mr. Trump tapped Mr. Musk to be the co-head of the new effort to downsize government, and publicly, they often seem to be mesmerized by each other.

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EXCLUSIVE: ICE says El Paso detention facility will stay open under new contractor after $1.2B deal scrapped

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EXCLUSIVE: ICE says El Paso detention facility will stay open under new contractor after .2B deal scrapped

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EXCLUSIVE: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas will remain open and is undergoing an operational upgrade, Fox News Digital has learned.

“Camp East Montana is NOT closing, quite the opposite,” an ICE spokesperson exclusively told Fox News Digital Tuesday.

“Rather, ICE has contracted with a new provider following Secretary Noem’s termination of the old contract inherited from the Department of War. ICE is always looking at ways to improve our detention facilities to ensure we are providing the best care to illegal aliens in our custody.”

Camp East Montana is photographed Friday, March 6, 2026, in El Paso, Texas. (Omar Ornelas/El Paso Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

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BLUE-STATE GOVERNORS MOVE TO KEEP HEAT ON NOEM AS DHS FIRES BACK

The spokesperson said the new contract will allow the facility to maintain what the agency described as the “highest detention standards” while expanding oversight.

According to ICE, the new contractor will also provide increased on-site medical care, additional staffing and a “PRECISE quality assurance surveillance plan.”

The agency said the updated agreement also strengthens ICE’s direct oversight of operations at the El Paso-area facility.

“Far from closing, Camp East Montana is upgrading,” the spokesperson said.

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El Paso immigration facility faces scrutiny but ICE says Camp East Montana is upgrading, not closing, after the $1.2 billion contract termination. (Omar Ornelas/El Paso Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

FOUR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS LINKED TO MS-13 INDICTED FOR ALLEGEDLY MURDERING 14-YEAR-OLD BOY IN MARYLAND PARK

The news that the facility will remain open comes after The Washington Post reported that the facility could face closure amid scrutiny over operations.

A document was distributed to ICE staff, the Post reports, indicated that the agency was drafting a letter to terminate the facility’s $1.2 billion contract at an unspecified date.

ICE officials, however, characterized the contract termination as a deliberate effort by Noem to raise standards and improve services.

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Camp East Montana is photographed Friday, March 6, 2026, in El Paso, Texas, as a bus enters the detention center.
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The facility, located at Fort Bliss in Texas, has been used to house thousands of detainees as part of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.

ICE did not immediately provide details on the identity of the new contractor or the timeline for full implementation.

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War with Iran fuels Russian oil boom — and trouble for Ukraine

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War with Iran fuels Russian oil boom — and trouble for Ukraine

Russia is emerging as one of the few early economic beneficiaries of the war with Iran, as disruptions to energy infrastructure drive up demand for Russian exports and the world casts its gaze to the Middle East and away from Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

The U.S. and its European counterparts slapped severe sanctions on Russia in March 2022, barely a month into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The effect was a stranglehold on Russia’s exports, depriving Putin’s war effort of at least $500 billion, experts say. But over the last week, as President Trump’s war in the Middle East choked energy markets worldwide, the White House began easing its restrictions on Moscow.

“It is traitorous conduct for you to help Russia,” California Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) said on X, demanding the Trump administration reverse course. “Russia is giving intelligence info to Iran that helps Iran target American forces.”

Crude droplets rained over Tehran after Israeli airstrikes decimated oil depots, draping the Iranian capital in a dense smog. Iranian counterattacks have also targeted refineries and oil fields in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Crude oil prices have surged, and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has all but ceased, sending energy importers in search of alternate sources.

Those spikes are giving Russia, one of the world’s largest oil and gas exporters, a rare advantage. After spending a decade as the world’s most sanctioned nation over his aggression in Ukraine, Putin is finally starting to regain some leverage in global markets.

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“In the current economic situation, if we refocus now on those markets that need increased supplies, we can gain a foothold there,” Putin said at a meeting at the Kremlin on Monday, according to Russian state media. “It’s important for Russian energy companies to take advantage of the current situation.”

On March 4, the Treasury Department issued a temporary 30-day waiver allowing Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil. The appeal by the Trump administration was described as a way to ease demand for Mideast oil, but was criticized as a reversal of sanctions placed against Putin meant to deny him the capital needed to fund his occupation of eastern Ukraine.

Now, Moscow is poised to press that advantage further, after Trump said Monday he will further lift sanctions on oil-producing countries to ease the trade friction and reintroduce additional oil and gas supplies. The only countries with U.S. oil sanctions are Russia, Iran and Venezuela.

“So, we have sanctions on some countries. We’re going to take those sanctions off until this straightens out,” Trump said at a news conference at his golf club in Doral, Fla. “Then, who knows, maybe we won’t have to put them on — they’ll be so much peace.”

The surprise concession to Moscow comes as reports suggest Russia is assisting Iran in targeting U.S. personnel.

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Trump’s announcement followed an unscheduled hourlong call with Putin about the situation in the Middle East.

The war has also set the stage for Russia to make gains in Ukraine, as hostilities draw the global spotlight away from Kyiv and its struggle to hold back the bigger Russian army. U.S.-brokered talks between the two adversaries have been sidelined as Washington shifts focus to its war in Iran.

“At the moment, the partners’ priority and all attention are focused on the situation around Iran,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X. “We see that the Russians are now trying to manipulate the situation in the Middle East and the Gulf region to the benefit of their aggression.”

Putin is unlikely to intervene militarily on Iran’s behalf, according to Robert English, an international foreign policy expert at USC. Instead, Putin is expected to play his position carefully, reap the economic rewards, and keep focused firmly on Ukraine at a time when key air defense systems are diverted from Ukraine to the Persian Gulf.

“Russia is winning the Iran-U.S.-Israel war, at least so far. Oil and natural gas prices have soared, filling Putin’s Ukraine war chest,” he said. “Russia is gathering forces for a big spring offensive in Eastern Ukraine, and it’s not even front-page news.”

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Ukraine has dispatched drone interceptors and ordered its anti-drone experts to pivot from their war with Russia to help Western allies help intercept Iranian attacks. Zelensky’s allegiance may not pay off, English said.

“When will Ukraine see the benefits of helping the U.S. with anti-drone technology? No time soon, apparently,” he said.

Even several weeks of interruption in Gulf energy supplies could bring the largest windfall to Russia, the Associated Press reported, citing energy analysts.

The economic turmoil caused by the war has exposed vulnerabilities in Europe’s energy system, particularly its lingering dependence on Russian fuel.

Despite sanctions, the European Union remains a major purchaser of Russian natural gas and crude oil. Russian gas accounted for approximately 19% of E.U. gas imports in 2025. Allied Europeans have agreed to completely stop importing Russian liquefied natural gas, oil and pipeline gas by late 2027.

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Putin expressed no desire Monday to rescue the European market now that U.S.-Israeli escalations and Iranian retaliation have choked oil production and shipping. The Russian president instead proposed to divert volumes away from the European market “to more promising areas” like the Asia-Pacific region, Slovakia and Hungary, which he said were “reliable counterparties.”

European leaders have been criticized for being “stunned, sidelined, and disunited” since hostilities began in late February. Excluded from the initial military planning by the U.S. and Israel, Europe entered the conflict with gas storage at only 30% capacity, the lowest levels in years. Instead of bold action, English said, European leaders have quarreled over internal divisions and rivalries.

“Sky-high energy prices are the underlying cause of many of these frictions, as Europe struggles now more than ever to find affordable alternatives to the cheap Russian petroleum,” English said.

Antonio Costa, president of the European Council, told European leaders in Brussels on Tuesday that rising energy prices and the world’s shifting attention risk strengthening the Kremlin at a critical moment in the war in Ukraine.

“So far, there is only one winner in this war,” Costa said. “Russia.”

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Trump stirs GOP primary drama with visit to Massie’s Kentucky home turf

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Trump stirs GOP primary drama with visit to Massie’s Kentucky home turf

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President Donald Trump is taking his feud with Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to the libertarian lawmaker’s home turf on Wednesday.

Trump is expected to hold an event in Hebron, Kentucky, on Wednesday, the Republican Party of Kentucky announced on social media Monday. It’s located in the northern part of the state’s 4th Congressional District, which Massie represents.

Massie’s primary rival, Ed Gallrein, will attend the Hebron event, his campaign confirmed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, while deferring all other questions on the matter to the White House.

Massie himself will miss the event due to a previously scheduled official engagement, his spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

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KHANNA AND MASSIE THREATEN TO FORCE A VOTE ON IRAN AS PROSPECT OF US ATTACK LOOMS

President Donald Trump will be visiting Rep. Thomas Massie’s congressional district on Wednesday. (Win McNamee/Getty Images; Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

When asked about the visit, White House spokeswoman Liz Huston told Fox News Digital, “President Trump will visit the great states of Ohio and Kentucky on Wednesday to tout his economic victories and detail his Administration’s aggressive, ongoing efforts to lower prices and make America more affordable.”

The president has thrown his considerable influence behind Gallrein to unseat Massie after the GOP lawmaker publicly defied Trump on multiple occasions.

MASSIE, KHANNA TO VISIT DOJ TO REVIEW UNREDACTED EPSTEIN FILES

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Massie most recently was one of two House Republicans to vote to stop Trump’s joint operation in Iran with Israel, though the legislation was successfully blocked by the majority of GOP lawmakers and a handful of Democrats.

Ed Gallrein, left, seen with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House. (Ed Gallrein congressional campaign)

He was also one of two Republicans to vote against Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” last year.

Trump in turn has hurled a slew of personal attacks against Massie, including calling him “weak and pathetic” in a statement endorsing Gallrein in October.

“He only votes against the Republican Party, making life very easy for the Radical Left. Unlike ‘lightweight’ Massie, a totally ineffective LOSER who has failed us so badly, CAPTAIN ED GALLREIN IS A WINNER WHO WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN,” Trump posted on Truth Social at the time, one of numerous criticisms targeting the Kentucky Republican through the years.

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He called Massie the “worst Republican congressman” in July amid Massie’s bipartisan push to force the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release its files on Jeffrey Epstein.

Then-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, and Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

But Massie has so far appeared to defy political gravity despite making political enemies out of both Trump and House GOP leaders.

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He handily defeated multiple primary challengers in 2024 and 2022, despite public feuds with Trump, and has served his district since 2012.

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Gallrein is a retired Navy SEAL and farmer who launched his campaign days after Trump made his endorsement. Their primary election day is May 19.

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