Led by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11), House Oversight Dems Demand Musk’s Financial Disclosure, SF-86, etc. to “Examine His Conflicts of Interest and Liabilities, Including Ties to China and Russia”

“We write regarding the scope of duties Elon Musk is undertaking as a special government employee (SGE) and the deeply alarming conflicts of interest presented by his expansive position.  In an unprecedented arrangement, President Donald Trump has bestowed expansive and unlawful authority to Mr. Musk, an unelected billionaire.  Mr. Musk is redirecting billions of taxpayer dollars to fund his own financial interests while slashing federal employees, programs, and services on which all Americans depend.  Mr. Musk also remains in charge of a sprawling private-sector business empire that continues to rely on billions of dollars in government funding and has been charged with managing his own conflicts of interest.  The Trump Administration has failed to make public Mr. Musk’s financial disclosure filings, hiding the true extent of his conflicts from the public,” wrote the Members.

In their letter, the Members highlight that federal employees may not participate in government matters in which they have a financial interest, noting an exception of this provision if the employee has made a full disclosure of the financial interest and received—in advance—a determination that the interest is either remote or insubstantial enough that it would be unlikely to affect the integrity of the employee’s work.

However, Mr. Musk has substantial financial interests such as federal contracts in the aerospace, telecommunications, automotive, and biotechnology industries worth billions of dollars.

“In recognition of Mr. Musk’s elevated role in your Administration, we request that he immediately complete a public financial disclosure, as is generally required for employees occupying positions equivalent to those of a member of the Senior Executive Service.  This disclosure will provide important transparency to the American people about the interests of a government employee with enormous influence over the use of their tax dollars,” concluded the Members.

On March 4, 2025, after repeated stonewalling by the Administration and disinterest by Committee Republicans, Ranking Member Connolly led Committee Democrats in introducing a Resolution of Inquiry to investigate Elon Musk’s extensive conflicts of interest and entrenched corruption within the Trump Administration.

Click here to read the letter to White House Counsel David Warrington.

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“The Democratic Members of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform are conducting an investigation into Elon Musk, special government employee and senior adviser to President Donald Trump, and the extensive ties he has to China, Russia, and other foreign governments and officials,” wrote Ranking Member Connolly. “Given the vast and growing number of government contracts awarded to Mr. Musk and his companies, including from the Department of Defense (DOD), General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)—as well as the multiple conflicts of interest arising from them—the Democratic Members of the Committee are interested in whether he has fully disclosed all connections, interactions, payments, and business with foreign governments and officials.”Ranking Member Connolly asked that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and FBI Director Kash Patel provide all requested documents by May 15, 2025.

Last month, Committee Democrats launched investigations into Musk’s glaring conflicts of interest and federal contracts at the White House, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

On March 4, 2025, after repeated stonewalling by the Administration and disinterest by Committee Republicans, Ranking Member Connolly led Committee Democrats in introducing a Resolution of Inquiry to investigate Elon Musk’s extensive conflicts of interest and entrenched corruption within the Trump Administration.

Click here to read the letters to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and FBI Director Kash Patel.

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“I write in strong opposition to the recent Office of Personnel Management (OPM) proposed rule to purge and politicize the nonpartisan federal workforce by reclassifying more than 50,000 federal employees under Schedule Policy/Career.  The Administration’s proposed rule has bipartisan opposition in Congress, because of the devastation it would inflict on the expertise and performance of our federal workforce, which would in turn hurt our constituents and the life-saving services they need and deserve,” wrote Ranking Member Connolly. “I strongly urge the Administration to rescind the proposed rule and cease its political assault on our federal workforce. Also, be forewarned: the Administration’s full-scale executive power grab through unlawful and other means, of which this rule is a part, is increasingly clear to the American people and risks an immense public backlash with serious political consequences for the Administration and Congressional Republicans.”

For decades, both Republican and Democratic administrations have relied on the institutional knowledge and expertise of impartial career federal employees to ensure constituents and communities get the services they need and deserve from government. Civil service protections allow the federal government to recruit and retain an expert federal workforce free from political pressures and threats, and the protections ensure experienced civil servants will not be replaced with inexperienced partisan loyalists.

OPM’s proposed rule to reclassify tens of thousands of career federal employees under a proposed Schedule Policy/Career would allow experienced civil servants to be terminated, not on merit, but for political reasons. This weakens the federal workforce, making it difficult to retain experienced staff and rewarding federal employees for political loyalty rather than their knowledge and experience.

“Nonpartisan civil servants, 30% of whom are veterans, help families in the wake of hurricanes and deadly fires, facilitate access to lifesaving payments like Social Security and unemployment insurance, and protect our national security.  This rule would allow the Trump Administration to summarily terminate a veteran who devoted their post-service career to the federal government and replace them with a 20-something political operative whose primary qualification is unquestioned fealty to the MAGA movement.  Reclassifying nonpartisan federal employees so they can be replaced with President Trump’s inexperienced loyalists will undermine public service and jeopardize the well-being and safety for all Americans,” concluded Ranking Member Connolly.

Ranking Member Connolly strongly urged OPM Acting Director Charles Ezell to stop his efforts to purge and politicize our federal workforce, and requested a briefing on OPM’s proposed rule on Schedule Policy/Career by May 15, 2025.

Click here to read the letter to OPM Acting Director Charles Ezell.

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