Flurry of directives relaxes regulations and drop lawsuit – and billionaires who donated to Trump are ready to benefit

The millions that US tech companies invested in currying favor with Donald Trump seemed to pay off this week as the new administration issued a flurry of directives that relaxed regulations and dropped lawsuits previously aimed at holding the industry to account. Crypto, AI and social media companies, many of which made donations to Trump, are all expecting to benefit.

At the center of the administration’s moves is Elon Musk, the world’s richest man. Over the past week, federal agencies under the president’s authority dropped legal fights against his rocket company and the US’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange. The White House also issued a “deregulatory initiative” aimed at loosening tech-sector regulation by empowering Musk’s Doge.