Musk warns Democrats over possible congressional probes

SpaceX founder Elon Musk warned Democrats over a possible congressional probe on Wednesday, writing, “live by the sword, die by the sword.”

“Those who pick fights with me should understand that I will find out who is really pulling the strings and come for them, not just their puppets,” Musk wrote on the social platform X, which he owns, in response to a Politico report about his controversial work as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the potential shutdown of Starlink access in Ukraine. 

Another report in The Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials and people familiar with the matter, accused Musk of ordering the slowdown of Starshield, the military version of Starlink internet. The technology is a vital tool Ukraine uses to defend itself from Russian missile and drone attacks. 

“What happens when one guy gets a giant contract from the government and then uses it to do something that shuts down communication in a war that has been extremely important to the United States to support Ukraine,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said in an interview with Politico.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were quick to blame Musk despite President Trump claiming last week that neither he nor Musk was involved in the slowdown. Trump’s role in the matter is still unclear. 

Democrats are also looking to extend their past probe into Musk’s work as a special federal employee at DOGE, per Politico. 

The late Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) wrote in a letter to Trump last year that Musk wielded “immense authority” while at DOGE and used his power to “feed Congressionally authorized and funded federal agencies ‘through the wood chipper.’”

Connolly further accused the White House of “obscuring the facts of” Musk’s role at the department.

During his 130-day tenure as head of DOGE, the department reported it saved $214 billion through asset sales, contract cancellations, fraud and improper payment deletion, programmatic changes and workforce reductions, according to a site tracking national debt. That amounted to $1,329 saved for each of the roughly 161 million taxpayers in the U.S. and reduced the national debt by 0.54 percent.

At the same time, however, an investigation by the environmental nonprofit group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility claimed the Trump administration cost taxpayers an estimated $10 billion in 2025 through its deferred resignation program.

Another report from the Government Accountability Office estimated the administration spent $6.7 billion on administrative leave after DOGE pushed for employee buyouts.