Out Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) introduced legislation yesterday in response to Elon Musk’s potentially illegal takeover of several key government functions. His bill – the Eliminate Looting of Our Nation by Mitigating Unethical State Kleptocracy (ELON MUSK) Act – would force Musk to choose between his companies’ lucrative government contracts or his position of influence in the Trump administration.

Musk – the CEO of the social media platform X as well as SpaceX, which has earned an estimated $20 billion in U.S. government contracts – has been rampaging through the government, taking control of key systems without the authority to do so in order to, critics say, bypass the rule of law and simply enact conservative policy that couldn’t otherwise be passed by Congress.

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One of the systems he took over was the Treasury’s payment system, which handles the transactions that keep government employees paid and pays out Social Security payments and tax refunds, as well as other payments the federal government makes.

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He has been using his access to attack USAID as well. USAID handles humanitarian aid for the government, including HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment funding for people in poorer countries. Musk claims that Trump supports his efforts to eliminate it.

“This is a constitutional crisis we are in today,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said about the takeover of USAID.

Until yesterday, Musk didn’t have a position in the government and was simply a private citizen using access he gained as Trump’s biggest donor – he spent over a quarter of a billion dollars to help get Trump elected – to exercise power. In response to this criticism, the White House announced that Musk is now a “special government employee,” which they said is a position without pay and without the legal restrictions faced by actual federal employees. Trump gave Musk office space in the White House and a government email address.

According to Forbes, the fact that he isn’t paid means that he doesn’t have to fill out financial disclosure forms that federal employees do. That is, he has more access to control the government than any bureaucrat in history, but since he isn’t drawing a salary, the public won’t get to know how he is using his power over the government to possibly enrich himself further.

Rep. Pocan introduced the ELON MUSK Act late yesterday, which would require federal agencies to terminate contracts with special government employees, as they have to with elected officials and federal employees.

“No one should have the ability to direct funds towards their personal interest if they are working for the federal government,” Pocan said in a statement. “That’s why we don’t allow Members of Congress or many other federal employees to receive federal contracts. The same is even more true with a special government employee with wide authority to direct federal expenses.”

“No government employee, ‘Special’ or not, should have any financial interest in who the government does business with. Elon Musk is the poster child for this type of potential abuse. After more than $20 billion in federal contracts, there’s no way Musk can be objective in what he’s doing. Protecting the taxpayers has to be our number one priority.”

Pocan’s office noted that Musk has become $154 billion richer since Election Day 2024 and that he has access to personal data on millions of Americans – like Social Security numbers and bank account information – from the Treasury system he took over. They said that while Musk has $20 billion in known government contracts through SpaceX, the company’s subsidiary, Starlink, has “additional contracts with undisclosed amounts.”

Pocan spoke out against Musk on social media, accusing him of “ripping us off” and saying that he’s “pissed.”

“I’m taking action by introducing the ELON MUSK Act, preventing grifters like him from getting richer while pillaging our tax dollars for himself,” he wrote.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) have asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate out Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for allowing Musk to have access to the Treasury’s payment system.

Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee yesterday tried to subpoena Musk to face questioning about his actions. It failed in a 19-20 vote, with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) not voting.

On X, Khanna said that he missed the vote since it wasn’t announced in advance and that he “would have voted yes.”

Musk “should be subpoenaed & answer to our committee. They should call the vote again with notice,” Khanna said.

“Don’t be a d**k,” Musk responded.

Pocan’s bill faces an uphill battle as Republicans control both the House and the Senate, and presumably Trump wouldn’t sign it into law. Republicans in Congress have, by and large, been supportive of Musk’s efforts.

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