Key House Democrat rips Musk for usurping presidential powers, says some have discussed impeachment

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said Elon Musk was acting as if he were the president of the United States through his DOGE cost-cutting efforts.

U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

"A guy who, if he were president, would be impeached immediately because he’s taking billions of dollars in foreign government emoluments from all over the world," he added. "And some have actually been talking about impeaching President Elon Musk right now on the theory that he’s usurped the powers of the presidency."

Raskin said Musk wants to create a "techno monarchy" amid his cost-cutting through DOGE. 

"Elon Musk would really like to completely overthrow our system of government and move us into some kind of techno monarchy under the geniuses of Silicon Valley," he said. 

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Musk's role in the Trump administration has garnered praise from Republicans and drawn the ire of Democrats who worry about his access to government databases and say he is trying to take over the government in a way that's not transparent.

"The people voted for major government reform," Musk told reporters Tuesday from the Oval Office alongside Trump. "There should be no doubt about that. That was on the campaign. The president spoke about that at every rally. The people voted for major government reform. And that's what people are going to get."

Since President Donald Trump has taken office, DOGE has set its sights on the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Treasury Department. 

A judge recently issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Musk-led department and political appointees from accessing sensitive Treasury Department data. Trump has also directed DOGE to probe the Education and Defense departments for wasteful spending.

"Billions and billions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse," Trump said Tuesday. "And I think it's very important. And that's one of the reasons I got elected."

Musk defended DOGE, saying the group is targeting bureaucracies that don't provide anything in return to taxpayers, as well as targeting America's debt. 

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"What we have is this unelected, fourth unconstitutional branch of government, which is the bureaucracy, which has, in a lot of ways, currently more power than any elected representative," Musk said. "And this is not something that people want. It does not match the will of the people. So, it's just something we've got we've got to fix.

"So, what I really would say is it's not optional for us to reduce the federal expense," he added. "It's essential."

Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to louis.casiano@fox.com.

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