House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is leaving the door open to congressional investigations targeting Elon Musk's work at the Department of Government Efficiency, telling Fox News Digital that Democrats will "follow the facts" — while pointing to the two lawmakers who would run oversight if Democrats take the House in January.
"We're going to follow the facts," Jeffries said. "We're going to apply the law. We're gonna be guided by the Constitution."
Asked directly whether Musk should be investigated by the incoming Democratic majority, Jeffries declined to commit to a probe. Instead, he named Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., as the men who will steer oversight. "Jamie Raskin and Robert Garcia are going to lead our oversight efforts," Jeffries told Fox News Digital. "And I defer to them at the moment."
Raskin, in line to chair the House Judiciary Committee, has already signaled that DOGE is on his list. He told Fox News Digital last week that an investigation is warranted — even as he conceded he has no plan drawn up. "I had no specific plan," Raskin said. "Look … DOGE was a catastrophe for America, and at least one committee, I feel pretty certain, will investigate it. It needs to investigate it."
Garcia, poised to become chairman of the House Oversight Committee, and Assistant Democratic Leader Joe Neguse have reportedly been strategizing with Jeffries and Raskin on the investigative agenda. That agenda is now colliding with a White House already pushing back. White House counsel Will Scharf sent a letter to Garcia on Wednesday saying the administration is "monitoring" Democrats' "abusive and capricious threats" to launch congressional probes — and warning that such threats may themselves be criminal and warrant executive branch investigation, according to NBC News.
"A Democratic Congress is going to be a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch in the face of unprecedented corruption that they've unleashed on the American people," Jeffries said. "And if they don't like it, consult the Constitution."
The maneuvering comes as Jeffries is running for speaker after formally announcing his bid a day after Democrats took back the majority in the midterms. The vote is not a lock: leadership elections for House Democrats are set for Nov. 18, with members voting by secret ballot. Jeffries needs a simple majority of Democrats to be nominated — but 218 floor votes to be formally elected speaker. A cluster of progressive incoming members dubbed "The Bloc" have refused to publicly commit, with Rep.-elect Adam Hamawy, D-N.J., telling reporters, "We're not withholding votes. What we're doing is saying we're undecided. We're not going to rubber-stamp anything."
House Democrats are also staffing up for the fight, with POLITICO reporting the caucus is hiring a new House counsel to help craft its approach to congressional oversight.
The practical question for Americans: what does a DOGE probe actually change? Raskin and Garcia would hold subpoena power over DOGE records, personnel and contracting decisions starting in January. Republicans ran the same play against the Biden administration — Oversight Chairman James Comer's probes into Hunter and James Biden's foreign business dealings — and those investigations proceeded without courts stopping them. The White House is now citing Supreme Court rulings holding that congressional investigations must serve a legitimate legislative purpose and cannot be used to punish political opponents.
It is not yet known what specific DOGE activities Raskin or Garcia would target, or whether the White House letter will deter any subpoenas.
Our Take
Let's call this what it is. That's not oversight. That's a fishing expedition with a press release attached.
The White House letter from Will Scharf is the right response. Congressional subpoenas aren't a license to criminalize political opponents, and if Democrats want to treat the DOJ as a weapon against an ally of the President, they should expect the same scrutiny back. Raskin admits he has "no specific plan." Garcia is already lawyering up. The speaker's race is so shaky Jeffries can't even count 218 votes from his own caucus.
Here's the question every American should ask: if DOGE was such a catastrophe, why does the Left's first move after winning the majority require a criminal investigation to explain it? Patriots, watch what Raskin and Garcia subpoena first — that will tell you exactly what they're afraid of.
