House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is one of several Democrats saying it only takes three House Republicans to oppose Elon Musk. (Getty Images)
But Lee's comments appear to signal that House Democrats are prepared to use a discharge petition to end-run GOP leaders' likely opposition. It's a mechanism to force legislation up for a House-wide vote, provided the petition gets signatures from a majority of House lawmakers.
Meanwhile, in an MSNBC interview earlier this week, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., suggested Democrats' highlighting of Republicans' thin majority could be a running theme in the 119th Congress.
"What we've been saying to our Republican colleagues is that on any issue that the American people are concerned about, it only takes three Republicans to break with the other side of the aisle, join the 215 Democrats, and we can stop them in their tracks. It only takes three," Jeffries said.
"Meanwhile, they're in the witness protection program as it relates to the things that are taking place – don't want to take a stand, don't want to offend Elon Musk, don't want to offend Donald Trump, but they're really offending the people that they were elected to represent."
SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN
Top progressive Rep. Mark Pocan is among those pressuring the GOP. (Reuters/Christopher Aluka Berry)
The number three also coincides with how many House Republicans won districts that former Vice President Kamala Harris prevailed over Trump in last year.
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Those Republicans – Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Don Bacon, R-Neb. – are likely to be main targets for Democrats.
The vast majority of House Republicans have been supportive of Musk's DOGE efforts, however, even as Democrats sound alarm bells about the billionaire's lack of government experience and accuse him of possible conflicts of interest.
Republicans have argued that the $36 trillion national debt amounted to a fiscal crisis that called for extraordinary measures.
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
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