‘We can absolutely bring Elon Musk in’ if Democrats regain control, the Texas Democrat says.
A House Democratic lawmaker said that if Democrats retake control of the House of Representatives, they will likely issue a subpoena to former Trump administration special government employee and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Musk, who departed the administration last week in accordance with the expiration of his special government employee status, appeared alongside President Donald Trump in a news conference in the Oval Office on May 30. The tech billionaire played a key role in the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), whose mission is to root out fraud and cut wasteful government spending. So far, it reports it has helped save taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, but aims to raise that to more than $1 trillion.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) told MSNBC on Sunday that Democrats had “tried to subpoena Elon Musk before” but it was blocked by Republicans, who control the House and its committees.
“I think that unfortunately, we’re going to have to wait until the Democrats are in the majority—which will hopefully be in the midterms—and then we can absolutely bring Elon Musk in,” Crockett said.
Democrats, if they control the lower chamber, “can have him under oath, and we can have him tell us about everything that he did,” she added.
As he departed his Trump administration advisory position last week, Musk had spent 130 days as a special government employee. During his press conference with the president, both Trump and Musk indicated they were on good terms and that DOGE’s work would continue.
Earlier this year, Democrats had signaled on multiple occasions they weren’t pleased with government cuts that were requested by Musk, DOGE, and the White House since Trump took office in January.
In April, top Democrats on the Senate and House appropriations committees criticized Musk and Trump for blocking what they said was $430 billion in congressionally appropriated funding.
“Instead of investing in the American people, President Trump is ignoring our laws and ripping resources away,” said the Democrats in a statement. They said the funding that was cut or frozen by the Trump administration had been approved by Congress.
Since taking office in January, Trump has said that he wants to reduce overspending in the federal government and terminate various programs that don’t align with American priorities.
In a statement issued by the White House, Trump said at the time that DOGE is designed to bring “accountability and transparency to federal spending, ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and effectively,” which he said, “has already saved taxpayers billions of dollars.”
After DOGE was established via an executive order in January, its website has reported that more than $175 billion in contracts, grants, and leases have been cut so far. That amounts to more than $1,080 per taxpayer, according to the site.
When he was working in the government, Musk framed his work overhauling the federal government in existential terms. “If it’s not possible now, it will never be possible. This is our shot,” he told reporters in the Oval Office in February. “This is the best hand of cards we’re ever going to have. If we don’t take advantage of this best hand of cards, it’s never going to happen.”
In a CBS News interview published Sunday, Musk suggested that he wanted to slash funding to federal agencies because he views them as inefficient and wasteful, likening the federal government to an oversized Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), an area of government infamous for its inefficiency.
“But my frank opinion of the government is that, like, the government is just, like, the DMV that got big, okay? So, when you say it like, ‘Let’s have the government do something,’ you should think, ‘Do you want the DMV to do it?’” he asked.
The Epoch Times contacted the White House and Musk’s company, X, for comment on Sunday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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