Democrats are doing anything they can to stop Trump and Musk.
House Democrats have launched a coordinated effort to pressure Republicans into restricting Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Their goal is to leverage the GOP’s narrow majority in the House to push legislation that would prevent Musk from accessing sensitive U.S. citizens’ records housed in the Department of Treasury.
In recent days, Democratic lawmakers have used both traditional media and social platforms to call on “just three House Republicans” to defect and support a bill that would block Musk from accessing private taxpayer data. Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) recently urged on X (formerly Twitter), “I’m siding with the Taxpayer Data Protection Act because it is going to protect citizens private data from Elon Musk and his dangerous DOGE employees. GOP leadership has to let us vote. If they do not, it just takes three Republicans to join us and make it happen.”
Typically, any legislation that goes to a full House vote needs approval from the majority party leaders. However, Rep. Lee’s comments suggest that Democrats are preparing to utilize a discharge petition, which could bypass GOP leadership if enough signatures are gathered.
Democrats are clearly eyeing Republicans’ slim majority as a key weakness. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) hinted that they would continue to target the few Republicans holding vulnerable districts, suggesting, “It only takes three Republicans to break with their party and join us to stop legislation in its tracks.” He emphasized that it only takes three Republicans to ensure a victory, warning that Republicans who side with billionaires like Musk are hurting the very people they were elected to represent.
Meanwhile, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) and other progressives have voiced their concerns, arguing that Musk, a billionaire businessman, should not have access to Americans’ private financial data. Pocan wrote, “An unelected billionaire should NOT have access to your personal financial info!”
With a House majority hanging by a thread, it’s clear that Democrats are going to target Republicans in swing districts, such as Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Don Bacon (R-NE). These members are vulnerable, particularly because their districts were won by President Joe Biden in 2020.
While a small group of Republicans may be susceptible to this pressure, the majority have supported Musk’s DOGE initiative, believing that it’s a necessary step in reforming the government. Republicans argue that the national debt, now exceeding $36 trillion, demands bold actions—actions that they believe Musk’s efforts could help address. But the growing divide over privacy concerns and government accountability is bound to lead to even more intense political battles in the months to come.