Last week, U.S Rep. Mark Pocan announced plans to introduce the Eliminate Looting of Our Nation by Mitigating Unethical State Kleptocracy, or ELON MUSK Act.
The bill seeks to ban special government employees — namely billionaire Elon Musk — from obtaining federal contracts. Musk’s companies SpaceX and Tesla were awarded billions in federal contracts over the last 10 years.
Pocan, who represents a district in southcentral Wisconsin, said in an interview with WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” that special government employees like Musk should be subject to the same anti-corruption measures as other federal employees.
Stay informed on the latest news
Sign up for WPR’s email newsletter.
“Putting the world’s richest man, who gets federal contracts, in charge of federal dollars that could go to federal contracts is a real problem,” Pocan said.
Yesterday, the House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency, an offshoot of Musk’s efforts, met for the first time. Republicans on the committee fiercely defended Musk’s attempts to slash spending and reduce the federal workforce.
Pocan talked with WPR about his latest policy initiative and other issues facing Democrats in Washington.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Kate Archer Kent: You don’t sit on the House DOGE [Delivering on Government Efficiency] subcommittee, but do you have takeaways from what you heard yesterday?
Mark Pocan: Congress isn’t doing a damn thing, to be honest. That’s part of the problem. We’ve pretty much given up our constitutional authority as a branch of government and given the keys completely to the executive branch. And the president has given the keys completely to an unelected billionaire and a bunch of 19- to 20-somethings who are working for the DOGE commission that are now turning on and off the spigots of federal dollars.
The problem is they have no experience or understanding of what they’re doing, and we’re seeing real life impacts back home. We’re seeing farmers that can’t have their products sold to USAID [United States Agency for International Development] anymore to give food around the world. We’re finding out that researchers are going to lose their grants and lose their jobs and lose years of potential work through those items that they’re researching. We’re finding out about people who have disabilities on Medicaid who are very fearful that they’re not going to have the support that they need, and then that falls on the community. We’re hearing about cuts to the Department of Education so deep that it’s going to affect the overall dollars that are available, which is going to then cut every district in the state at the same time they’re trying to move those dollars to private schools.
KAK: You introduced legislation known as the ELON MUSK Act. Musk is a major federal contractor. What would this do?
MP: Elon Musk is now a special government employee — no different, really, than a federal employee or a member of Congress, and he should abide by the same rules. Which means you can’t also get federal contracts, because it’s just ripe for corruption. He’s proving it by shutting some [federal agencies] down. If you want to make sure you’re not hurt, guess what? Maybe you find a contract for one of his companies. That is the definition of corruption, and that’s what we’re doing right now.
It doesn’t matter where you come from on the political spectrum— it doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t make sense for members of Congress. It doesn’t make sense for other federal employees. It shouldn’t make any sense for special government employees.
KAK: What else are House Democrats doing as this transpires? Do Democrats know how to respond in this moment?
MP: Elections have consequences. We’re not in charge of the House, the Senate or the executive branch. So if there’s a government shutdown, for example, on March 14, it’s because the Republicans have decided to do that. They’re in charge of everything. And I am fearful that will likely happen.
We’re working on two fronts. Litigation — and we often can’t have standing because Mike Johnson, the speaker of the House, won’t give us that standing to sue — so we’re working with the groups that are suing on many of these actions that we think are illegal or even unconstitutional.
And then communication. We’re trying to get the information out right now. It doesn’t matter who you voted for, but if you voted for Donald Trump because eggs and housing were too expensive, I understand why you might have done that. But if you think that we have someone who can then get federal contracts from controlling federal agencies, you might not like that. Or if you think that cuts to the Department of Education could actually take tax dollars resources away from education and that they’re going to fall on your property taxes — it’s just a bait and switch — you may not like that. I think our job is to get that kind of information out.
KAK: We talked recently with Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany about Trump’s federal funding freeze. He said, “It is up to the executive branch to make sure that the money is going out in a fashion that represents the will of the American people.” Do you think the president has the right to freeze federal funding? If not, how would Congress challenge it?
MP: It’s very apparent Tom Tiffany doesn’t serve on the Appropriations Committee like I do, because you would have a better answer than that. We almost exclusively have the power of the purse. There may be some areas where the executive branch does, but if funds have already been appropriated, that’s part of the beef — where he’s going, and how much overreach you’re seeing from the White House. That’s why there’s many lawsuits right now.
Honestly, I think there’s just a complete lack of understanding by the White House about where some of their authority is. So when they’re going into these federal agencies — including ones that are created by Congress which they don’t have the authority to go in — and dismantling them, that’s something that there’s absolutely going to be litigation.
Very likely, they’re going to be stopped. But in the meantime, there’s confusion and chaos — unfortunately something that Donald Trump enjoys too often. But at least as a member of Congress, what we have to care about is our constitutional authority and our constitutional powers. Too many of these members of Congress, including Tom Tiffany, apparently, are willing to give the keys to Congress also to the White House, and that takes away the checks and balances we need.
