Labor secretary shuts down testimony about 'racial abuse' at Elon Musk's company

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer refused to talk about "routine racial abuse" at one of Elon Musk's companies during a Senate hearing Thursday.

While appearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) asked Chavez-DeRemer why her department had closed an investigation into alleged racial abuse at Tesla.

"It seems over and over again that the cuts that are happening throughout the government are specifically advantaging Elon Musk and his companies," Murphy explained. "And so I want to ask you about an office that has essentially been eliminated under your watch and ask you to explain to us what the story is here. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is a really important office that has been supported by Republican and Democratic presidents."

"There were 55 offices protecting workers all across the country. There are now four. The office in Hartford, Connecticut, has been closed. All of this is likely illegal."

Murphy noted that the office closures "worked out very well for Elon Musk because there was an open investigation against one of his facilities in Fremont."

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"Black employees at this Tesla facility were allegedly subject to routine racial abuse, pervasive stereotyping and hostility," he noted. "The epithets range from the N-word to monkey to boy to other insults I can't say in this committee."

"How do you justify the cloture of an agency that was supporting workers, protecting workers?" he wondered.

"As you know, I will not be able to discuss this because it is under litigation now," Chavez-DeRemer replied. "So I cannot go into any other comments in regards to that, and that would be true for many things that the Department of Labor is being sued for I cannot discuss."

Murphy implored the secretary to explain why the agency was effectively eliminated.

"Elon Musk gets no special treatment from the Department of Labor or from me," Chavez-DeRemer insisted.

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