The top Democrat on the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform sent a letter 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.) wrote to Trump. "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 authorized 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 continued, 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 presented Musk, the richest person on Earth, as its chair. Connolly wrote, "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, said 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 not the administrator or an employee of the U.S. DOGE Service or its related temporary organization. Instead, he said, 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 that "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 significant concerns that either you are lying about Mr. Musk's role or Mr. Fisher perjured himself—a criminal offense that can lead to 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," he reminded the president. "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 flood of criticism directed at Democrats in the wake of the November election for not effectively fighting for working people or standing up to the GOP and oligarchy. It also came after a closely watched contest between Connolly and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) to serve as the committee's ranking member.
