House Oversight Republicans block Democrats’ inquiry into Musk’s conflicts of interest
Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted down an attempt by Democrats on Wednesday to have the White House transmit certain documents to Congress related to Elon Musk’s conflicts of interest and role in the government.
Oversight Democrats’ resolution of inquiry (H.Res 186) would require President Donald Trump to send documents — including reports, memos, correspondence and other communications — to Congress regarding Musk’s role in the government, his perceived or realized conflicts of interest, federal contracts involving the tech billionaire and more.
Republicans blocked the ROI by five votes.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., said in an interview with FedScoop after the markup that the courts are the “only way to stop them,” pointing to multiple lawsuits that put injunctions and restraining orders into place against the federal government’s allowance of DOGE in systems.
“The political reality at this moment is that Democrats are the resistance to the effort to loot the federal government by Elon Musk and President Trump,” Stansbury said. “I think it’s going to remain that way because Republicans are afraid that if they speak out, that Elon Musk will fund primaries against them.”
The minority, Stansbury said, is using the bully pulpit to help reveal what is going on with the Trump administration. She emphasized the need for a few Republicans to “stand up and do the right thing.”
Last Tuesday, Republicans on the committee made a procedural error at a business meeting while voting on the Musk-related inquiry and another Democratic ROI, according to a Democratic staffer.
That staffer said Republicans were forced to vote on the resolutions a second time to “shield President Trump and Elon Musk from Democrats’ efforts to hold them accountable.”
A Republican committee staffer, however, said a “staff error” derailed the previous meeting. Because of “arcane House rules,” majority members were supposed to vote “yes” to adversely report the ROIs instead of “no” on “favorably reporting,” the staffer added.
