On Feb. 5, Democrats in the House of Representatives attempted to subpoena billionaire Elon Musk. This subpoena ultimately failed due to a block from Republicans.
Democratic Rep. Gerald Connolly of Virginia called for a subpoena against Musk during a congressional hearing. A subpoena is an order that requires a person to appear in court. Musk’s involvement in federal spending through Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) sparked this action.
“While Musk is head of the department, his team consists of several engineers, aged 19 to 20, with little to no government experience,” according to Wired.
Being labeled as a special government employee allows Musk to work for the government for up to 130 days.
Senior staff writer Rebecca Beitsch from The Hill, a news network in Washington, D.C., reported on the failed subpoena.
“[Elon Musk] was also the brainchild behind a new federal government program offering buyouts to federal employees,” Beitsch said.
DOGE fired government workers after offering them eight months of pay and benefits to persuade them to leave their jobs. The mass layoff intended to cut trillions of dollars in government spending; however, it sparked controversy.
Musk’s involvement concerned Democrats after DOGE gained access to the Department of Treasury’s payment systems, a system containing personal data for Americans such as Social Security payments.
The subpoena failed due to a 19-20 vote, ruling in the Republicans’ favor. Republican committee chairperson James Comer expressed his approval of DOGE’s work, saying, “real innovation isn’t clean and tidy,” according to Beitsch. However, reports indicate that up to nine lawmakers missed the vote due to insufficient notice.
If Democrats successfully passed the subpoena, Musk would have faced penalty. Musk’s net worth “grew by 69 percent from $264 billion on November 6 to $447 billion on December 12,” according to Newsweek.
A decrease in Tesla shares dropped his net worth to below $400 billion, a result of consumer concern that Elon Musk’s current behavior will cause a hit in sales.
As Musk continues to hold power in the government, Democrats may pursue other avenues of stopping him from gaining any further influence in governmental affairs.
