Top Dem on DOGE subcommittee calls on Elon Musk to testify

Driving the news: Stansbury said during the hearing she supported the goal of ensuring the government works better and more efficiently for Americans, but said lawmakers "can't just sit here today and pretend like everything is normal."

• "While we're sitting here, Donald Trump and Elon Musk are recklessly and illegally dismantling the federal government," Stansbury said.
• She went on to accuse Republicans of shielding Musk and Trump as they break the law and took aim at Vice President JD Vance for purportedly undermining the judiciary.

State of play: If Musk is as committed to transparency as he claims to be, he should testify before the subcommittee, Stansbury said.

• "Come and testify in front of the American people under oath, because we want to know what you're up to," she said.

The big picture: The DOGE Subcommittee on Oversight is the congressional arm of the new department, and Stansbury had previously vowed to use her position on the committee to fight back against the dismantling of federal agencies.

• In the first weeks of the new Trump administration, DOGE has swept through federal agencies, gutting programs and career civil servants in the name of cost cutting.
• In the line of fire have been U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), among others.
• DOGE's activities have sparked lawsuits from labor unions seeking to hem in DOGE's access to confidential data.

Go deeper: What to know about Elon Musk's DOGE