WASHINGTON — A group of House Democrats led by U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, is ramping up the pressure to oust billionaire Elon Musk out of President Donald Trump’s administration by the end of May. That is when Casar said Musk’s stint as a special government employee is supposed to end. 

What You Need To Know

  • Casar and other progressives demand that President Donald Trump publicly promise he’ll remove Elon Musk from his role in the administration, citing a 130-day deadline for special government employees

  • Musk has led the Trump administration’s efforts to slash the federal government and Musk’s ability to lay off federal workers and access sensitive government data has drawn sharp criticism and triggered legal questions

  • The White House says Musk has been following ethical guidelines, and argue shrinking the size of the federal government is exactly what voters wanted

“Donald Trump must, by law, fire Elon Musk,” Casar said at a press conference launching the campaign.   

The progressive democrats sent a letter to Trump demanding he publicly promise that Musk, whose companies hold a number of federal contracts, will end his role with the administration on May 30. Special government employees can work multiple years, though, and the Democrats said if Musk must return to the federal government, they want him to divest from his companies. 

“The richest man on earth, attacking the American people and trying to take over our government is deeply wrong. People know that in their gut,” Casar said.  

Casar said because Musk is technically a special government employee, he is by law limited to working only 130 days for the president.

Musk has led the Trump administration’s efforts to cut the size of the federal government. Musk’s ability to lay off federal workers and access sensitive government data has drawn sharp criticism and triggered legal questions. But the White House has long assured he has been following ethical guidelines.

“We’re very confident with the ethics and the guardrails that have been put in place,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.  

The White House did not say whether Musk would leave by May 30, when asked by Spectrum News, but commented on the progressives’ push. 

“The Democrats have no plan on how to recover from their embarrassing loss, and it shows. Instead of working to become a party that focuses on the will of the people, they are hell-bent on keeping their heads in the sand and gaslighting on the widely supported mission of DOGE. Slashing waste, fraud, and abuse, and becoming better stewards of the American taxpayer’s hard-earned dollars might be a crime to Democrats, but it’s not a crime in a court of law,” White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields said.  

Democrats are also feeling emboldened after a candidate backed by Trump and Musk lost in a Wisconsin Supreme Court race. 

This is also not the first time Casar has targeted Musk. Ever since he was a city council member, Casar has raised concerns about workplace safety and compensation at a Tesla vehicle factory in Central Texas.

“This presents a real opportunity for the Democratic Party to show who we really want to become, or maybe how we want to go back to how we used to be, which is a party for working people and against billionaires and big companies that want to enrich themselves off of taxpayer dollars,” Casar said.  

Casar said besides public pressure, progressive Democrats are also exploring legal avenues to try to ensure Musk leaves.