Senator urges hearings, criticizes Elon Musk and Trump over agency actions

A Senator urged lawmakers to use aggressive oversight tools in response to actions by Elon Musk and former President Donald Trump, saying both are “breaking the law” and that oversight hearings are warranted.

The senator said she sent Elon Musk a letter listing “30 specific places that we could make cuts in the federal government to get rid of waste, fraud, and abuse,” and said the total identified was “dollars 2,000,000,000,000.” The senator said she offered to work with Musk but received no response and criticized Musk for dismissing public employees, saying he had “fired air traffic controllers, fires the people who handle nuclear waste material, fires our teachers.”

Asked whether Democrats should be doing more, including whether the Senate Finance Committee could hold hearings, a questioner said: “Some people have suggested that lawmakers should do more. They have Democrats should do more. And in particular, the senate finance committee may be holding it unofficial here, you know, to call people up and explain exactly what's going on here. Is that an option on the table, or what do you say to the folks who are worried that Democrats are not being addressed?” The senator said she has held one “spotlight” hearing and urged colleagues to convene additional hearings, saying, “Look, we need to use every tool in the toolbox. No tool is too small. No tool has been lying around dusty too long for us to pick it up and use it. This is an emergency.”

The senator said she invited Republicans to the spotlight hearing about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau but that they did not attend. She described calling for more hearings and working with colleagues across committees to explain recent events to the public.

No formal subpoenas, committee votes or legislative referrals were recorded in the forum; the remarks describe oversight and hearing activity and encouragement to convene more such hearings.