The top Democrat on the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform wrote to President Donald Trump on Thursday, demanding answers about billionaire Elon Musk’s involvement in the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which is leading the Republican administration’s efforts to gut federal agencies.
“I write to express my concern regarding your direct contradiction of a sworn statement by a White House official, provided under penalty of perjury, regarding Elon Musk’s role within your administration,” Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va. “As the American people can plainly see, Mr. Musk wields immense authority over the U.S. DOGE Service (USDS or DOGE) and the federal government generally, with the purported power to feed congressionally authorised and funded federal agencies” through the wood chipper[,] “yet parts of the White House appear intent on obscuring the facts of his role.”
“To ensure transparency on the authority you have granted Mr. Musk and the legal authority he has to direct DOGE, I request that you provide substantive documentation regarding his formal role,” the congressman said, giving Trump two weeks to respond to questions about DOGE staff as well as Musk’s role, decisions, directives, and authority to access Americans’ sensitive data.
“At a press conference on the evening of February 19, 2025, you stated, ‘I signed an order creating the Department of Government Efficiency and put a man named Elon Musk in charge.'”
Since announcing DOGE shortly after winning the November election, Trump has publicly named Musk, the world’s richest person, as its chairman.
wrote Connolly, “You have repeatedly portrayed Mr. Musk as the head of DOGE, including at an Oval Office press conference in which you referred to DOGE as Mr. Musk’s ‘team’ in response to a question, and in which Musk repeatedly referred to DOGE’s efforts as his efforts, saying, for example, that ‘we post our actions to the DOGE handle on X and to the DOGE website.'”
However, Joshua Fisher, director of the Office of Administration, stated in a Monday declaration to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan—who is overseeing a case challenging DOGE’s attacks on federal agencies—that Musk is neither the administrator nor an employee of the U.S. DOGE Service or its related temporary organisation.
Instead, he stated that Musk “is an employee of the White House Office,” specifically “a senior adviser to the president” with “no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself.”
Connolly wrote to Trump: “In direct contradiction to Mr. Fisher’s sworn statement, at a press conference on the evening of February 19, 2025, you stated, ‘I signed an order creating the Department of Government Efficiency and put a man named Elon Musk in charge.'”
This contradiction raises serious concerns that either you are lying about Mr. Musk’s role or Mr. Fisher committed perjury, a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.”
“The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the principal oversight committee of the House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate ‘any matter’ at ‘any time’ under House Rule X,” reminding the president of it.
“It also has legislative jurisdiction over the federal civil service and the ‘overall economy, efficiency, and management of government operations, and activities[.]'”
The letter followed a barrage of criticism directed at Democrats in the aftermath of the November election for failing to effectively fight for working people or stand up to the GOP and oligarchy.
It also followed a close race between Connolly and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) for the committee’s ranking member position.
