Why House Democrat want Kash Patel and FBI to investigate Elon Musk

Rep. Jamie Raskin is calling on FBI Director Kash Patel to investigate what he describes as Elon Musk ’s “extensive” and “startling” ties to China, raising alarms about national security risks posed by Musk’s entanglements abroad.

In an eight-page letter sent this week, Raskin urged Patel to provide “urgent information” to the American public regarding Musk, who currently leads the Department of Government Efficiency—also known as DOGE—under the Trump administration.

“Musk is bulldozing our federal government while accessing the people’s most sensitive databases,” Raskin said during a Judiciary Oversight Subcommittee hearing Wednesday. “He’s traveled to China multiple times in recent years and met with top Chinese Communist Party officials. He continues to open factories in China, where he does half of his business, even as he works as a ‘special government employee’ dismantling our federal institutions.”

Raskin, a Democrat representing Maryland, delivered the remarks at a hearing originally billed as an examination of “waste, fraud, and abuse” at the FBI under the Biden-Harris administration. Instead, the spotlight quickly turned to Musk.

In his letter, Raskin slammed the Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s growing influence over federal operations through DOGE, despite never having held elected office.

“Elon Musk’s access to national security secrets and the sensitive data of hundreds of millions of Americans is alarming,” Raskin wrote. “His companies rely heavily on Chinese markets for revenue growth, and under the DOGE umbrella, Musk and his employees have accessed sensitive personal information—tax records, health data, marital status, Social Security payments—sparking multiple lawsuits, some already advancing in court.”

DOGE, an agency created during Trump’s second term, has given Musk sweeping powers to “streamline” federal functions—powers critics say have opened doors to gross overreach.

Despite the letter, the GOP-led subcommittee remained focused on defending the FBI’s current leadership. In a statement, the panel claimed the bureau had been misused during the Biden years to pursue “partisan investigations” and “abusive tactics,” shifting focus away from legitimate threats like terrorism and China.

Stewart Whitson, Senior Director of Federal Affairs for the Foundation for Government Accountability, testified that under Biden, the FBI “almost immediately” redirected resources away from foreign threats toward January 6 investigations and political targets.

Musk, for his part, dismissed the report that he might be stepping down from DOGE. “Yeah, fake news,” he posted on X.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed the sentiment: “This ‘scoop’ is garbage,” she posted, linking to a POLITICO article. “Elon Musk and President Trump have both publicly stated that Elon will depart from public service as a special government employee when his incredible work at DOGE is complete.”