House Democrats have launched a campaign to pressure Elon Musk to leave his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency by the end of May.
Rep. Greg Casar of Texas wrote in a Wednesday letter to President Donald Trump, co-signed by 76 of the congressman’s House colleagues, that Musk’s 130-day tenure as a special government employee must end by May 30, citing federal law.
“In his short time in government, Elon Musk has done enormous harm to working Americans. Musk’s reckless destruction of government agencies has led to everything from seniors having challenges accessing Social Security to veterans losing access to care at VA hospitals,” Casar alleged.
“Once Elon Musk is removed from his post, he may not legally return to the federal government this year without divesting from his companies, including Tesla and SpaceX. For the good of the country, Elon Musk should be removed from his position immediately. Under the law, Mr. Musk cannot remain in his position beyond May 30th,” the congressman concluded.
Casar made clear in an interview with Axios that the purpose of their letter was to help create a “public pressure” campaign to ensure Musk leaves.
Additionally, he said Democrats “have legal tools at our disposal.”
Casar asserted in a Thursday news conference, “Fifty days from today, Donald Trump must, by law, fire Elon Musk.”
The lawmaker further alleged that the SpaceX CEO is ignoring conflict of interest rules in his current role and said Musk is financially benefitting from it.
.@RepCasar: “50 days from today Donald Trump must by law fire Elon Musk.” pic.twitter.com/LEmiG4uIb0
— CSPAN (@cspan) April 10, 2025
Axios noted that the White House may not have to comply with the 130-day deadline as Casar and his fellow Democrats are counting them.
“The White House may end up pointing to an Office of Government Ethics memo last year — during the Biden administration — that said unpaid travel days do not count towards the 130 days,” the outlet said.
Earlier this month, Fox News host Bret Baier asked Musk if he planned to continue past the 130-day mark.
“I think we will have accomplished most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that time frame,” he responded.
Musk gave an update regarding some of his DOGE team’s efforts at a cabinet meeting Thursday, saying, “I’m excited to announce we anticipate savings in FY26 from reduction of waste and fraud by $150 billion.”
‼️DOGE AT WORK‼️
“I’m excited to announce we anticipate savings in FY26 from reduction of waste and fraud by $150 billion.” @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/s8oJptiX7b
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 10, 2025
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer affirmed during the same meeting that DOGE had helped her department identify $400 million in fraudulent unemployment payments, including funds sent to people listed as over 115 years old and those ages 1-5 years old.
Dept of Labor Secretary @LChavezDeRemer exposes shocking unemployment insurance fraud uncovered at DoL:
– 25,000 people over 115 years old collected $59M
– 28,000 kids aged 1-5 years old collected $254M
– 10,000 people not yet born collected $69M pic.twitter.com/YgLewElLhc— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) April 10, 2025
Asked by reporters earlier this month whether he would appoint Musk to another position when his 130-day special employee window ends, Trump responded, “I would. I think Elon’s great, but he also has a company to run, or a number of companies to run.”
“We’re in no rush” to see him go, the president added, “but there will be a point at which time Elon’s going to have to leave.”
WATCH: President Trump takes questions on Air Force One https://t.co/MjaC2cDLyJ
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 3, 2025
When questioned about a specific date, Trump answered, “I would think a few months.”
Trump further stated that DOGE will remain in place after Musk leaves, and eventually its work will fall under the individual cabinet secretaries.
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