Vasquez, others call on Musk to resign

By Hannah Grover

Rep. Gabe Vasquez, a New Mexico Democrat, is calling on Elon Musk to resign from his role in the federal government effective May 30 as required by law.

Vasquez and a group of other members of Congress wrote a letter to President Donald Trump calling for the Tesla CEO’s resignation.

Under federal law, special government employees cannot serve for more than 130 days, but that is only one reason that Vasquez says he is calling on Musk to resign. The congressman alleges Musk’s actions have violated ethics laws and harmed working families.

“Elon Musk is not an elected official, and he should not be allowed to operate with unchecked power inside our government—especially when his actions are hurting everyday people,” Vasquez said in a statement. “We’ve already seen the consequences: seniors struggling to access Social Security and veterans being denied care at VA hospitals.”

The letter demands a public statement from Trump’s administration making it clear that Musk will resign as required by law. In the letter, the members of Congress say this statement is needed because of the “repeated violations of the law” by Musk and the Trump administration.

Vasquez and his colleagues say Musk’s time as a special government employee has resulted in “enormous harm to working Americans.” They cite challenges seniors are facing with accessing social security and veterans losing access to care at hospitals run by the Veterans Administration.

“While millions of Americans are suffering, Musk is continuing to enrich himself and break ethics laws,” the letter states. “Musk continues to cut funds from programs that support working people, while his own companies continue to rake in more than $8 million per day in contracts and subsidies from the federal government.”

The members of Congress list ways that they say the Trump Administration has helped promote or enrich Musk’s companies. Those include changes in rules of a broadband program that benefited Musk’s Starlink satellite internet company and a car show on the White House lawn where Trump promoted Tesla vehicles.

Outside of the federal government, the lawmakers say Musk has attempted to influence the outcomes of elections, including paying voters in Wisconsin to support a certain candidate for the state Supreme Court. According to the Associated Press, Musk paid two voters $1 million to vote in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race.

“Any typical government employee would be held accountable for these actions, but Musk, who donated $277 million to your presidential campaign, has been allowed to keep his position of power in your White House,” the letter states.

Vasquez and his colleagues urged Trump to remove Musk from his position in the federal government immediately “for the good of the country,” but they say if he is not removed immediately, they want reassurance that he will step down by May 30.

Should Musk seek to return to federal service this year, the billionaire would need to divest from his holdings in Tesla, SpaceX and other companies with government contracts.

Vasquez hosted a townhall in March where he listened to constituents’ concerns about Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. Some of the concerns expressed during the townhall included cuts at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and threats to benefits for veterans.

In the senate, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, introduced legislation this week in response to Musk’s role at the White House. Her bill attempts to prevent special government employees from profiting off of actions taken by the presidential administration. It would do so by blocking executive agencies’ from awarding contracts, grants or agreements to companies where a special government employee has more than a 5% ownership stake.