Some Senate Democrats are pushing for an ethics investigation into the White House promotional stunt led by President Donald Trump to support Elon Musk’s electric car company as its stock prices plummet.
The lawmakers – which include Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) – said in a letter to the acting director of the Office of Government Ethics that spectacle on Tuesday violated federal ethics laws.
“We write with serious concern that a top Trump Administration official, Elon Musk — in conjunction with President Trump — is using his official role and the public resources of the White House to promote his car company, Tesla,” the group wrote in a letter dated Thursday.
They want an ethics investigation launched to include “possible disciplinary action” against the Department of Government Efficiency head. That could mean suspension or removal of Musk from his government role, according to the letter.
“Mr. Musk appears to have violated federal ethics laws by using his official position to promote his company,” the Democratic senators added. “As a Special Government Employee (SGE), Mr. Musk is subject to OGE regulations governing the conduct of executive branch employees.”
ALSO READ: 'Came as a surprise to me': Senators 'troubled' by one aspect of government funding bill
“Ethics laws on the misuse of government positions serve a practical purpose,” they concluded. “They help ensure that finite taxpayer resources are devoted to addressing public problems, from soaring egg prices to a Measles outbreak — rather than redirecting the President’s scarce time and White House resources to helping the world’s richest man get richer.”
The call for an ethics probe into the White House event came as welcome news to some political observers.
“The word ‘illegal’ should have been in every headline,” MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell noted on X.
“Flagrantly illegal, as well as gross and tawdry,” former federal prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega added in her own social media post.
Warren herself hinted at her disapproval of the Trump/Musk event by writing in a post to her X followers on Tuesday: “Grocery prices are soaring. Housing costs are skyrocketing. Retirement savings are plummeting. But Donald Trump thought today would be a good day to play car salesman.”