Warren, Lawmakers to Trump: Fire Elon Musk, Reinstate Agency Leaders and Federal Watchdogs
Lawmakers demand Trump reinstate fired Senate-confirmed officials and address Musk’s conflicts of interest, cite officials’ investigations and prosecutions of Musk’s companies
“Nearly all of your decisions you made about who to fire appear to benefit Mr. Musk”
“We urge you to immediately reinstate the illegally fired individuals and remove Mr. Musk from his government role unless he addresses his massive and glaring conflicts of interest”
Washington, D.C.– U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), along with Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), led 38 Members of Congress in a letter to President Donald Trump, raising concerns about his unlawful firings of dozens of independent agency heads and inspectors general (IGs), and calling attention to how many of these firings appear to benefit Elon Musk. The Members also asked that President Trump remove Musk from his government role unless he addresses his conflicts of interest, and immediately reinstate the illegally fired individuals.
“Nearly all of your decisions you made about who to fire appear to benefit Mr. Musk, and many target individuals and agencies that are currently investigating or prosecuting Mr. Musk or his companies for unlawful behavior,” wrote the lawmakers. “Many of these individuals have legal protections dictating why and how they can be removed from office.”
Many of the firings appear to benefit Musk. Musk and his companies have been the subject of at least 20 recent government investigations or prosecutions, including for possible violations of federal safety and labor laws. The lawmakers’ letter lists several agency heads and watchdogs who were improperly fired while involved in oversight surrounding Musk, including but not limited to: NLRB Chair Gwynne Wilcox, FEC Chair Ellen Weintraub, EEOC Commissioners Jocelyn Samuels and Charlotte Burrow, and USDA Inspector General Phyllis Fong.
“Altogether, these firings either directly benefit Mr. Musk and his companies or remove guardrails that would hold them accountable to the rule of law,” continued the lawmakers.
Several of Trump’s orders contradict legal protections for the relevant officials. For example, federal law requires the president to notify Congress before removing an inspector general, but Trump did not do so before firing over a dozen IGs. He also failed to set forth the justification required to remove a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
“The impacts are vast: in total, your removals of agency heads and career civil servants have affected at least eleven federal agencies with more than thirty-two ongoing investigations, complaints, or enforcement actions on Mr. Musk’s companies,” wrote the lawmakers.
The lawmakers warned that failing to hold Musk accountable hurts American citizens and threatens the democratic system of checks and balances.
“These firings have removed the exact individuals in our government who would hold Mr. Musk and his companies accountable for following the law and protect everyday Americans from threats to their health, welfare, safety, and economic well-being,” wrote the lawmakers.
“We urge you to immediately reinstate the illegally fired individuals and remove Mr. Musk from his government role unless he addresses his massive and glaring conflicts of interest as required by law,” concluded the lawmakers.
In addition to lead Senator Warren and co-lead Cory Booker (D-N.J.), the following Senators signed on: Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Heinrich (D-N.M.), Markey (D-Mass.), Padilla (D-Calif.), Sanders (I-Vt.), Schiff (D-Calif.), Van Hollen (D-Md.)
In addition to co-leads House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the following Representatives signed on: Balint (D-Vt.), Beyer (D-Va.), Brownley (D-Calif.), Clarke (D-N.Y.), Cleaver (D-Mo.), Cohen (D-Tenn.), Davis (D-Ill.), DeSaulnier (D-Calif.), García (D-Ill.), Garcia (D-Calif.), Grijalva (D-Ariz.), Johnson (D-Ga.), Kelly (D-Ill.), Khanna (D-Calif.), Lee (D-Pa.), Levin (D-Calif.), Matsui (D-Calif.), McIver (D-N.J.), Moulton (D-Mass.), Norton (D-D.C.), Olszewski (D-Md.), Ramirez (D-Ill.), Scanlon (D-Pa.), Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Stansbury (D-N.M.), Subramanyam (D-Va.), Titus (D-Nev.), Tlaib (D-Mich.), Tokuda (D-Hawai’i), Tonko (D-N.Y.), and Waters (D-Calif.).
###
Next Article Previous Article