House Oversight and Accountability Committee ranking member Virginia Representative Gerry Connolly is asking for an investigation into Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick over comments he made asking Americans to buy Tesla stock in a Wednesday FOX News interview.
In a March 20 letter addressed to John K. Guenther, acting general counsel for the Department of Commerce, Connolly requested an inquiry into Lutnick’s remarks, made during an appearance on Fox News’s “Jesse Watters Primetime.”
The Virginia lawmaker claims that Lutnick’s statements violate ethical standards and are part of the Trump administration’s supposed efforts to support the businesses of the president’s allies.
Connolly: Secretary Lutnick promoted Tesla
Speaking to FOX, Lutnick called the company’s CEO, Elon Musk, “the best leader of any set of companies in America working for America.” He said Tesla’s stock price drop of 34.6% was “unbelievable” and asked viewers to buy it. “It’ll never be this cheap again,”
This has not boarded well with Rep Connolly and other Democrats, owing to Musk’s position as a White House advisor.
“This is just the latest example of the Trump administration using taxpayer resources to enrich the President’s inner circle,” Connolly wrote in his letter. He has requested financial disclosures from Lutnick and his deputy, along with electronic communications between Commerce Department officials and the White House before Lutnick’s televised remarks.
Liberal policymakers assert that President Trump has no regard for regulatory oversight and is operating in a way that would enrich those who supported him during his campaign back to the Oval Office, Tesla CEO included.
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Two months ago, Trump dismissed dozens of independent agency watchdogs without congressional approval. Under the Musk-founded official government office, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), more federal agencies, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, are facing mass layoffs.
In his letter, Connolly accused Musk of wielding undue influence over government operations, benefiting from taxpayer funds while overseeing deep staffing cuts.
“These ongoing violations of law require a response befitting of the level of abuse to deter further lawlessness,” Connolly wrote.
Defending Tesla and DOGE from Democrats’ grievances
Since taking up his role in Washington, Elon Musk has been in a neck-on-neck battle with liberals over trying to cut waste and fraud in US government expenditures. He argues that his budget-cutting measures are necessary to eliminate fraud and inefficiency in government spending.
On Tuesday, he told Fox News that the pushback against his work was fueled by people angry about losing taxpayer dollars.
“When you take away the money people get fraudulently, they get very upset,” Musk said. “They basically want to kill me because I’m stopping their fraud, and they want to hurt Tesla because we are stopping this terrible waste and corruption in the government.”
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At the same time, some citizens have taken the fight and protests to Tesla, with reports of vandalism targeting the company’s vehicles and dealerships.
Republicans and Musk are bashing Democrats for allegedly “disparaging” the electric vehicle company and asking their supporters to “not buy Tesla.” Yet observers have pointed out that many of the same policymakers have previously attacked corporations for promoting values they oppose and also celebrated financial setbacks faced by those businesses.
Lutnick: Elon Musk is the best person to bet on
Lutnick had many positive things to say about the billionaire in his FOX News appearance. For one, he claimed Musk was one of the frontrunners in the rescue operation of astronauts stuck in the International Space Station for nine months through SpaceX, despite NASA’s decision to delay the mission until the company was fully prepared.
“When people understand the things he’s building, the robots he’s building, the technology he’s building, people are going to be dreaming of today and Jesse Watters, thinking, ‘Gosh, I should have bought Elon Musk’s stock,’” Lutnick said. “I tell you what, Elon Musk is probably the best person to bet on I’ve ever met.”
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