Democrats call for hearing with Musk on DOGE operations, funding
A group of Democrats are calling for the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee to hold a hearing “as soon as possible” with tech billionaire Elon Musk about his operations with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its role in the administration’s funding.
The letter, signed by Democratic Reps. Steny Hoyer (Md.), Mark Pocan (Wis.), Sanford Bishop Jr. (Ga.), Glenn Ivey (Md.) and Maria Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.), was addressed to Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio), the chair of the subcommittee.
The Democrats are calling on Musk, DOGE official Amy Gleason and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought to testify about DOGE’s “activities and use of Congressionally authorized funds.”
Musk’s involvement in dismantling various federal agencies through DOGE has “elicited serious alarms from constituents in our districts and across the country,” the lawmakers said.
The Democrats said they expect the hearing to provide transparency about the use of appropriations and DOGE’s personnel arrangements, as well as examining if Musk should have been nominated by President Trump and undergone a confirmation process in the Senate like other top Trump administration officials.
The lawmakers are questioning what funds DOGE is using and if it should technically be considered a federal agency for its cost-cutting work, which would allow Congress to have oversight over it.
Musk and DOGE have come under sharp scrutiny in recent weeks, particularly as hundreds of thousands of federal workers were fired from their positions and the administration looks to slash federal spending.
Musk, who is the CEO of Tesla, has seen his Tesla stock drop, net worth drop, and been a target of protests across the country as Americans question his unelected role in the administration and the sensitive information DOGE has received access to.
The Democrats are calling for an oversight hearing to “provide transparency and substantive answers for our constituents and to consider whether more systemic reforms are needed” to address DOGE’s functions, they concluded.