House Democrats Launch Campaign To Oust Elon Musk From The Government By June

A coalition of over 70 House Democrats is launching a campaign to force Elon Musk out of the Trump administration by May 30, a new report has revealed. The effort cites a federal limit on how long a special government employee like Musk can serve.

Legal requirement indicates that special government employees, the designation given to Musk as he leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), not serve past 130 days, notes the report by Axios.

"We demand an immediate public statement from your administration making clear that Musk will resign and surrender all decision making authority, as required by law, by May 30th," 77 House Democrats wrote in a letter to President Donald Trump.

The lawmakers added that Musk should not be allowed to return as a special government employee for a year "without divesting from his companies, including Tesla and SpaceX."

Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Greg Casar (D-Texas), who led the letter, told Axios in an interview that it is just the opening salvo.

"We're making it very clear that the public pressure is only going to ramp up on Republicans between here and May 30," he said. Casar added Democrats have "legal tools at our disposal, political tools at our disposal," as well as the "full force of public pressure."

The campaign comes as the president revealed last week that Musk, who has deemed himself "first buddy" to Trump, will soon leave his post in the federal government and return to his business endeavors.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that "Elon is fantastic" but he has "a number of companies to run." "I want him to stay as long as possible," Trump said. "There's going to be a point where he's going to have to leave."

The White House has not disclosed any timeline for closing down DOGE, and the government cost-cutting organization was never supposed to become a permanent fixture in Washington. But it could be reaching a conclusion faster than anticipated. DOGE was originally intended to operate until July 4, 2026, according to The Associated Press.

Musk's unpopularity among voters and Democrats have made headlines recently after his heavy involvement in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election was credited as a key reason for a GOP loss.

Musk and his affiliated groups invested $21 million into flipping the Wisconsin Supreme Court to conservative control, only to see his candidate defeated by 10 percentage points on Tuesday. The losing margin was four points larger than that of the only other Republican on the same statewide ballot, who was not tied to Musk's money, The Associated Press reported.

The results left some Republicans questioning whether his presence in races was useful in a time when liberals are highly motivated to turn out against him, according to The Washington Post.

"The Republican base loves Elon Musk now, so [I thought] if he comes here and says 'go out and vote for Brad Schimel,' that would help," said Rohn Bishop, Republican mayor of Waupun, Wisconsin. "But the opposite effect happened."