In House floor remarks on Thursday night, Rep. Dave Min (D-CA) sounded off on Elon Musk's "damage" during his time at DOGE.
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00:00January 3rd, 2025, the gentleman from California, Mr. Min, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the Minority Leader.
00:07Mr. Speaker, thank you for the recognition to speak tonight.
00:10Before I begin, I ask for unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days
00:15in which to revise and extend their remarks and to submit extraneous material into the record.
00:20Without objection.
00:22Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
00:23Mr. Chair, I rise today to speak about Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
00:30And the deadly and devastating consequences of their illegal actions, which will reverberate long after they are gone.
00:38And the theme of today's special order hour is that the Musk is gone, but the stench remains.
00:43Elon Musk supposedly has left federal government.
00:46I just want to remind people that when President Trump issued his executive order creating the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE,
00:54and appointing Elon Musk in the role related to DOGE,
00:58DOGE was created as a temporary organization, and Elon Musk was appointed as a special government employee.
01:06And this was to avoid having any kind of Senate confirmation of either this congressional creation of the agency,
01:13or any confirmation of Elon Musk.
01:16And I want to remind folks that this entire time that Elon Musk was in office, or as a federal employee,
01:22he was in fact exercising powers that were far greater than any special government employee would be allowed to have.
01:29Exercising powers that would be at the highest levels of government, higher than an agency or department head,
01:35and in fact exerting powers that even the president himself does not hold.
01:40He violated the law every single day he was in Congress.
01:44I'm sorry, he violated the law every single day he was a special government employee.
01:48DOGE employees continue to remain today.
01:51So even though Elon Musk is gone, there are something like a hundred or more DOGE special governmental employees
01:57and other employees scattered around the federal government that are in position to continue the wreckage that Elon Musk created.
02:06Now I know that Elon Musk and Donald Trump have created a lot of news with their catfighting earlier today,
02:12but I just want to remind folks again that the damage Elon Musk did is going to take a long time to repair,
02:19and what he did essentially was try to upend the Constitution.
02:22Elon Musk, as a special government employee, purported to be able to undo acts of Congress,
02:29to impound, illegally impound funds that Congress had appropriated,
02:33to undo laws we had created, to undo agencies we had created.
02:37And there's a long list of stuff that he did, that DOGE did,
02:40including illegally deleting or ending the Department of Education,
02:45ditto with the USAID, the U.S. Institute for Peace, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
02:51Importantly, most of these were institutions created through acts of Congress,
02:56funded with appropriations authorized by Congress,
03:00and even my children know that the Constitution is clear on this point.
03:05Congress, and only Congress, has the power to enact laws.
03:08Congress, and only Congress, has the power to appropriate funds.
03:12It's very clear in our Article I authorities.
03:14And so the President does not have the authority to try to undo our laws
03:19or to impound funds that we've appropriated.
03:21And certainly a special government employee like Elon Musk does not have that authority.
03:26And so this was about a core tenet of the Constitution of the United States
03:30that every single one of us in Congress swears to support and defend when we take office.
03:37And yet too many on the other side of the aisle during this entire time
03:40pretended like this wasn't happening,
03:42pretended like Elon Musk was not violating the law every single day.
03:45Okay, so now he's apparently gone from the federal government,
03:48but the mass amount of wreckage that he did during his time with Doge
03:53is something that we're going to have to analyze and understand
03:56because there's been a complete lack of oversight from Congress,
03:59including from the oversight committee that I sit on, over these past few months.
04:04There have been reports that Elon Musk and Doge
04:06were given complete God-level access to the federal government's top systems,
04:11including private and sensitive data for all Americans, classified information,
04:16budget information, payment systems, etc.
04:20From a conflict of interest standpoint, Elon Musk has vacuumed up
04:24many billions of dollars in federal contracts for his companies and enriched himself.
04:29Tesla, SpaceX, Starlink have all profited under Musk's time as a federal employee.
04:36At the same time, he went out of his way to kill several enforcement actions
04:40that were underway by different federal agencies against his businesses,
04:44allowing his companies and himself to evade oversight.
04:47He was able to help place key personnel in agencies
04:50that now are looking to benefit his companies financially.
04:54Going back to the data privacy point,
04:56Elon Musk and Doge have allegedly used Musk's AI chatbot, Grok,
05:01within federal agencies.
05:02This model has likely been trained on non-public data by incompetent Doge workers,
05:08and Doge has also sought access to sensitive government data
05:10for millions and millions of Americans,
05:13likely violating the Privacy Act of 1974 repeatedly.
05:18This is not just a matter of our information being out there,
05:21potentially being used by Musk's AI systems,
05:24in violation of all laws.
05:26It's also a major national security concern.
05:29Bad actors will now have a much easier time siphoning off U.S. data
05:34due to the cybersecurity vulnerabilities that Elon Musk has created.
05:39Now, earlier this morning, the Oversight Committee held a hearing
05:42on how artificial intelligence has been integrated into the federal government
05:45by Elon Musk and Doge.
05:48Entrusting Doge with our personal data is not only a terrifying thought,
05:52but one that will have terrible consequences for Americans throughout the country.
05:55Trying to automate the federal government through AI without a true plan
05:59or any data privacy safeguards while firing ad hoc and haphazardly
06:05many of the technology support workers who understood those systems
06:09is going to have a massive negative impact on Americans.
06:12And I see here that I have here with me a fellow member.
06:18I'll concede in just a few moments.
06:21But I just wanted to continue by saying that many of my constituents right now
06:25are complaining about some of the effects we're already seeing
06:27from the haphazard and, again, illegal cuts to personnel made by Elon Musk and Doge,
06:33including many who are complaining now that they are having difficulty
06:37accessing their Social Security benefits because of the mass cuts in SSA.
06:41These are real people that are not getting their benefits.
06:44They can't get anyone on the phone when they try to call Social Security.
06:48And the reality is that Elon Musk, again, illegally fired a bunch of workers,
06:53even though he had no such authority to do so.
06:55And, again, I want to emphasize that this body, Congress,
06:58has refused to engage in any oversight to date over Elon Musk.
07:02And the only reason that we may be about to do some right now
07:05is because Elon Musk apparently is in a tit-for-tat with Donald Trump.
07:08And so I suspect some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle
07:11will finally wake up to some of the wrongdoing,
07:13some of the illegal actions that Elon Musk has been engaged in since January 20th.
07:19I also want to point out that this has never been about waste, fraud, abuse,
07:23certainly never been about efficiency.
07:24You don't eliminate entire agencies and departments, as Elon Musk has done.
07:29You don't get rid of 50% of the personnel at Social Security
07:32or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency
07:35if you're simply trying to improve efficiency and get rid of waste, fraud, and abuse.
07:39This was always about finding enough cuts to try to partially pay for
07:44the massive $7 trillion tax cut for billionaires
07:47that House Republicans and Donald Trump and Senate Republicans want to pass right now.
07:52That is what this is about.
07:53And so there was a slash-and-burn attitude to firing many thousands of federal employees.
08:00Hundreds of thousands of federal employees have attempted,
08:03they've attempted to fire, including those at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,
08:07the Department of Labor, and other critical agencies.
08:10And we've seen this firing be so haphazard that they've had to hire some of them back,
08:15including the decision to fire all the National Nuclear Security Administration personnel
08:20responsible for overseeing our U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile
08:24and then having to rehire them once they realized who they'd actually fired.
08:27Firing key scientists, pandemic experts as well,
08:31and repeatedly miscalculating and misrepresenting the savings
08:35that Doge cuts had made to our budget.
08:39They've also made the federal government much more bureaucratic and less efficient.
08:44I have a burgeoning life sciences industry in my district,
08:47lots of companies doing medical devices, innovative drugs,
08:51and they have all reported to me that they're deeply concerned about the massive cuts
08:56to the Federal Drug Administration, or Food and Drug Administration,
09:00because those cuts mean that they can't get anyone on the phone,
09:03they can't find people to try to prove their drugs and devices,
09:08and that this has created additional red tape and hurdles
09:11that have just made it very difficult.
09:13A lot of uncertainty right now,
09:15and these are companies that, again, are creating thousands and thousands of jobs,
09:18providing billions of dollars in collective impact to the Southern California area,
09:24and we're seeing this story writ large across the board right now.
09:28With that, I want to yield.
09:29I guess I will not yield just yet to my colleague,
09:31but I want to talk some more about the enormity of Doge's illegal cuts
09:37as well as how they've fared in the legal system.
09:40Since Doge was stood up by President Trump and Elon Musk,
09:43it has cut something like $6.5 billion for the U.S. Agency for International Development,
09:49$502 million for the Department of Education,
09:53$232 million from the Social Security Administration,
09:57$192 million from the General Services Administration,
10:00$173 million from the Department of Agriculture,
10:04$152 million from the Department of Health and Human Services,
10:07$133 million from the Department of Transportation,
10:11$119 million from the Department of Commerce.
10:15Now, again, these were not—we didn't have any transparency
10:17into what these cuts were justified on, what they were meant to do.
10:21These were in addition to the attempts to shutter USAID,
10:25the Department of Education, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,
10:28the U.S. Institute for Peace,
10:30and many other critical agencies, departments, and programs.
10:34And I will note that the courts have continued to find
10:38that these cuts were, by and large, illegal,
10:41that Elon Musk did not have any authority to undo acts of Congress,
10:45that Congress and only Congress can shut down agencies that we've created.
10:49Congress and only Congress can defund agencies
10:53from funds that we had previously appropriated.
10:57But with that, I see my colleague, Congresswoman Stansberry, here,
11:02and so I will yield to the ranking member
11:05of the House Oversight Committee's subcommittee
11:07on Delivery on Government Efficiency, Ms. Stansberry.
11:10All right.
11:11Well, I want to say thank you to Mr. Min
11:16for convening this special order hour.
11:20And as we're getting set up here,
11:22I know that we've got a poster that we want to get up here.
11:26So, let me just start out.
11:30Do we have a poster here?
11:32Yes.
11:37Thank you very much.
11:40All right.
11:42Well, Mr. Speaker, breakups are hard.
11:48They're really, really hard.
11:50And, you know, they're especially hard when they play out in the public eye.
11:54And I think anyone would understand that who is online right now
11:58and watching the very public breakup of Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
12:04I mean, if you've watched over the last several days,
12:06it's really been an epic breakup for the ages.
12:10In fact, I think it's fit for the real housewives
12:14if you've been watching what's unfolded,
12:16even just in the last several hours.
12:18In fact, just a couple of hours ago,
12:21Elon Musk affirmed a statement about actually impeaching the president.
12:28I mean, who would have thought that we'd end up here
12:30because literally less than a week ago,
12:33they were having a bromance in the Oval Office.
12:36So, it's really just incredible to think about
12:38what's happened over the last 72 hours when you think about it.
12:43But I think it's important to understand,
12:45I mean, you know, Donald Trump is in office
12:49as the most powerful human on planet Earth
12:52as the president of the United States.
12:54And rather than thinking about balancing the budget,
12:58addressing economic freefall,
13:01trying to figure out what to do with our foreign adversaries,
13:04how to help you, the American people,
13:07engaging on the debate on how to save health care
13:11for millions of Americans
13:12or making sure our children are fed
13:14in the United States and across the world.
13:17Instead, he's been so embroiled in the breakup
13:20of his bromance with Elon Musk,
13:23they've been going hard at each other all day long.
13:27So, I wanted to take this opportunity while we had it,
13:32honestly, to share the tea with all of you.
13:36Because I think, I mean, we all kind of knew
13:40this was coming, right?
13:41I mean, we've kind of seen the signs for the last few days,
13:45especially the last few weeks.
13:47But I don't think that many of us thought
13:49it would come in such a dramatic form.
13:52So, I want to kind of break down
13:54and put in the congressional record
13:56what's actually transpired over the last 72 hours.
14:01Now, I think many of us were shocked
14:03when we saw just a couple of days ago
14:06when on Tuesday at 1.30,
14:10Elon Musk tweeted the following.
14:12He said,
14:12I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore.
14:17This massive, outrageous, pork-filled,
14:22congressional spending bill
14:23is a disgusting abomination.
14:26Shame on those of you who voted for it.
14:29You know you did wrong.
14:31You know it.
14:32I mean, really, we were quite shocked.
14:36I mean, let's be clear.
14:37All 215 Democrats have been saying this for weeks.
14:41But obviously, things really boiled over
14:45for Mr. Musk on Tuesday.
14:47Then, just a few minutes later,
14:50he followed up with another shot at Donald Trump
14:53where he says,
14:54it will massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit
14:59to $2.5 trillion, exclamation point,
15:03and burden America's citizens
15:06with crushing, unsustainable debt.
15:11He went on in the following hours
15:13to literally accuse Republicans
15:15of making Americans debt slaves.
15:19I mean, this is actually what's been unfolding
15:22on the internet for the last several days.
15:24But this bromance is so messy, you guys.
15:27Like, this breakup is messy as all hell,
15:30let me tell you.
15:31So, okay, y'all know that Thomas Massey,
15:35who is a true fiscal conservative,
15:38who is pretty much the only Republican in this chamber
15:41who stands by his convictions
15:42and is not willing to sell out his soul
15:44for politics and power,
15:47voted against this bill
15:48because he read the CBO report
15:51and he was not gonna go and toll the line
15:54for the Republican Party.
15:55He knew that Speaker Johnson
15:57was not telling the truth about deficit spending.
16:00He knew that Donald Trump and his sales pitch
16:02was not selling the truth.
16:04He knew it was gonna cost $2.5 trillion,
16:07at least, at least.
16:09We don't even know what the final cost is going to be.
16:12But this love triangle got even messier
16:15because both Thomas Massey and Senator Rand Paul
16:18got in on the mess here.
16:21So we have Thomas Massey here retweeted Elon Musk
16:25and he says, he's right.
16:28And we saw just around that same time frame,
16:32Senator Rand Paul also got involved.
16:34But then, oh my gosh, well, Elon Musk,
16:37in a fit of passion, I'm sure,
16:39I mean, he dialed it up even further
16:42and he said later in the day here,
16:45it looks like it was about 3.32 p.m. on X,
16:50it looks like Elon Musk was retweeting
16:54what other people were saying
16:55about his attacks on the president
16:57and this big abomination of a bill.
17:00And Elon Musk says,
17:01in November of next year,
17:03we fire all politicians
17:05who betrayed the American people.
17:08I mean, you guys, we cannot make this up.
17:11This is like the real tea
17:13that is going on on the internet.
17:15So, you know, Elon Musk,
17:18he dumped almost $300 million
17:19on Donald Trump's election
17:22and he even weighed in
17:25and was like,
17:25yo, bro, you wouldn't even be president
17:28and wouldn't have the majority
17:29if I hadn't have dropped
17:30all my dollars on you.
17:32And then, Elon Musk,
17:34we were actually,
17:36this was yesterday afternoon
17:38because this went on all night, right?
17:39Like, we were all watching it unfold
17:41in real time.
17:42And even just a couple hours ago
17:44here on this floor,
17:45we were all like glued to our phones.
17:47We're like, oh man,
17:48this lover's quarrel's getting messy.
17:50And Elon Musk,
17:52around 2.50 p.m. yesterday afternoon,
17:54we were in the Doge subcommittee
17:56when it happened.
17:58He tweeted this.
18:00Elon Musk tweets,
18:01call your senator,
18:02call your congressman.
18:05Bankrupting America is,
18:07all caps, not okay.
18:09Kill the bill.
18:11And, you know,
18:12I appreciate it.
18:12I'm a 90s kid.
18:13He also tweeted a picture
18:16of Kill Bill,
18:16Quentin Tarantino reference.
18:19You know,
18:19we all know where you're coming from, Elon.
18:22Now, I want to be clear.
18:23I'm not a fan.
18:24I think we all know that.
18:25We've tried to subpoena you
18:27several times
18:28to come testify
18:28in front of the oversight committee.
18:30You've been giving yourself
18:31billions of dollars in contracts.
18:33You've been stealing American data.
18:34You've been breaking the law
18:35with impunity.
18:36You know,
18:37a couple of people asked me earlier
18:38how I felt about
18:39what was going on
18:40in this lover's quarrel.
18:41And I'm like,
18:42you know what?
18:43Like,
18:43you get mixed up
18:45with messy people.
18:47You get a messy outcome.
18:48And it's very clear
18:50that that's exactly
18:51what's going on.
18:53Now,
18:54I think we've all
18:55been hearing the rumors
18:56here in Washington,
18:58the breakup rumors.
18:59In fact,
19:00I think many of us,
19:01even on this floor,
19:02on both the Democratic
19:03and the Republican side,
19:05have heard the rumors
19:06that Donald Trump
19:07was getting frustrated
19:09with Elon,
19:10that he wanted to be
19:10on the helicopter
19:11all the time.
19:13And, you know,
19:14he was like following him around,
19:15going to Mar-a-Lago
19:16and showing up
19:18to these cabinet meetings
19:19and throwing all his money around
19:21and all that stuff.
19:22And in fact,
19:23in response
19:24to all the drama,
19:26Donald Trump
19:27fired back
19:28on True Social.
19:30Elon was wearing thin.
19:32I asked him to leave.
19:34I took away
19:35his EV mandate
19:36that forced everyone
19:38to buy electric cars
19:39that nobody else wanted,
19:41that he knew for months
19:42I was going to do,
19:44exclamation point.
19:45And he just went,
19:46all caps,
19:47crazy!
19:48I mean,
19:49you guys,
19:49this is getting out of hand.
19:50This is really,
19:51really,
19:52really getting out of hand.
19:54So then,
19:55Donald Trump,
19:57I mean,
19:57really,
19:57this is just the,
19:58you know,
19:59tip of the iceberg
20:00because,
20:01what else does,
20:02like,
20:02the leader of the free world
20:04have to do all day?
20:05I mean,
20:05he could try to end wars
20:06in the Middle East.
20:08He could try to negotiate
20:09peace deals in Europe.
20:11Oh, wait,
20:12no,
20:12actually,
20:12he's cutting funding for NATO.
20:14Sorry,
20:14I forgot about that.
20:15But in fact,
20:16he just spent his entire day
20:19attacking his aggrieved lover.
20:23So Donald Trump,
20:25let's see here,
20:26this is June 5th,
20:28237,
20:29on True Social says,
20:31the easiest way to save money
20:34in our budget,
20:35billions and billions of dollars,
20:37is to terminate
20:38Elon's governmental subsidies
20:40and contracts.
20:42I was always surprised
20:43that Biden didn't do it.
20:45I mean,
20:46you know,
20:47there's not a lot
20:48that Mr. Trump and I agree on,
20:50but,
20:51I mean,
20:51I'm totally with you,
20:53Mr. President.
20:54If you want to go after
20:55Elon Musk's contracts,
20:57like,
20:57we are here for the fight, bro.
20:59Like,
20:59give me a ring.
21:00Like,
21:00for real.
21:01We can get this across the finish line
21:03because,
21:04I mean,
21:05obviously,
21:06I know you guys were feeling
21:08like the feelings
21:09for the first 130 days
21:11and,
21:12you know,
21:12there's always like
21:13a honeymoon period,
21:15especially after,
21:16like,
21:16you go through a big thing together,
21:18like an election.
21:19And I know he helped you
21:21win your election,
21:22but,
21:22obviously,
21:23now the honeymoon is worn off.
21:26But,
21:26I mean,
21:26if you really want to root out
21:29waste,
21:29fraud,
21:29and abuse,
21:32I mean,
21:32even Donald Trump is saying it,
21:34you guys.
21:34I mean,
21:35Donald Trump,
21:36apparently,
21:37even this week,
21:38asked his own staff
21:39if the entire Doge effort
21:41was bullshit.
21:43And I'm not,
21:43I'm not trying,
21:44I know we're on the floor
21:45of the House of Representatives,
21:46so,
21:47to all of you monitoring,
21:49that,
21:49that's a direct quote
21:51of the President
21:51of the United States.
21:53Let me just be clear
21:54on that.
21:55But,
21:56yeah,
21:56I mean,
21:57obviously,
21:58Donald Trump,
21:58I mean,
21:59these guys know a lot
22:00about each other.
22:00They've spent a lot,
22:01a lot of time
22:02with each other
22:03over the last few months.
22:04So,
22:05I mean,
22:05they actually know
22:06what's going on.
22:08But,
22:08the battle continued today.
22:12You know,
22:12in response to Donald Trump's comments
22:15about Elon wearing thin,
22:19someone,
22:20the Autism Capital account,
22:22I don't know quite what that is,
22:23says,
22:23Trump fires back at Elon,
22:25the online battle begins,
22:26popcorn emoji.
22:28And Elon Musk says,
22:30such an obvious lie,
22:31so sad.
22:32I mean,
22:33we're all sad,
22:34right?
22:34Like,
22:34it's always sad
22:35when a relationship ends.
22:37But,
22:38I think,
22:39like,
22:39this is when things
22:40really got heated.
22:41And this is why
22:42things are really hard
22:43when you're having a breakup
22:44and there's,
22:45like,
22:45a love triangle
22:46with the GOP,
22:47these guys over here.
22:49I mean,
22:50there's nobody here anymore,
22:51just in case you're wondering.
22:52No Republicans
22:53except for
22:54the acting pro tem here.
22:57But,
22:58I mean,
22:59like,
23:00the thing that's so crazy,
23:01right?
23:01Like,
23:01we all get wrapped up
23:02in our friends
23:03and their relationships
23:05and the Republicans
23:06were like,
23:07okay,
23:08Mr. Trump,
23:09like,
23:09Elon's obviously your bestie
23:11and he spent all this money
23:12so we'll go along with it
23:13even though
23:14apparently the cabinet
23:15and Republicans
23:16were really unhappy about it.
23:18And they're like,
23:18okay,
23:19fine.
23:20But then,
23:21like,
23:21we're going scorched earth
23:23here now.
23:24And it was,
23:24it was actually really interesting
23:25to me earlier
23:26here on the House floor
23:28because I was like,
23:29well,
23:29how are Republicans
23:30dealing with it?
23:31I've never,
23:32honestly,
23:32I haven't seen you guys
23:33cheerful in quite a few months.
23:35So,
23:36clearly,
23:36something's about to happen.
23:38So,
23:38Elon Musk
23:39at,
23:41where are we at here
23:43on the time frame here?
23:44This was actually
23:46shortly before
23:47I came to the floor
23:48this afternoon.
23:50Tweets,
23:51time to drop
23:52the really big bomb
23:55at Donald,
23:56real Donald Trump
23:57is in the Epstein files.
24:00That is the real reason
24:02they have not been
24:03made public.
24:04And then he says cheerfully,
24:05have a nice day,
24:06Donald Trump.
24:08I mean,
24:08we all know what happens
24:09in breakups.
24:11But,
24:11obviously,
24:13like,
24:13you guys,
24:14they got the tea
24:15on each other.
24:16And they are,
24:17this is like a
24:18no holds bar
24:20breakup fight
24:21happening right now.
24:22But,
24:23finally,
24:23like,
24:24this was like
24:25the mic drop
24:26of all mic drops.
24:27just as I was
24:29walking onto the floor
24:30this afternoon,
24:31Elon Musk
24:32tweets,
24:33yes,
24:34in response
24:35to some other person
24:38who I don't know
24:39who tweeted
24:39President versus Elon
24:41who wins,
24:42Trump should be impeached.
24:45Now,
24:46we've all been
24:47through really hard
24:48breakups.
24:49But,
24:50I don't know
24:50if you guys remember,
24:51but,
24:51like,
24:52140 days ago
24:53or so,
24:54like,
24:54it was a love fest.
24:56They were here
24:56in the Capitol.
24:57It was so good.
24:59Elon Musk was like,
25:00yo,
25:01President,
25:01I'm gonna,
25:02like,
25:02save the government
25:03from debt slavery,
25:05which is his words,
25:07and the deficit.
25:08And,
25:09like,
25:09these bros
25:10were on the helicopter
25:11every day.
25:12They're going down
25:12to Mar-a-Lago.
25:13And now,
25:15Elon Musk
25:16is calling
25:16for the freaking
25:17impeachment
25:18of Donald Trump,
25:19you guys.
25:21I mean,
25:22that's,
25:22that is some
25:23serious,
25:25serious business.
25:26So,
25:28what does this all
25:30mean in reality?
25:32I mean,
25:33it's happening
25:33in real time.
25:34I haven't even
25:34checked my phone
25:35since I started
25:36this conversation.
25:38There might be
25:38more drama going
25:39down just since
25:40we started
25:41this very conversation
25:43on the floor.
25:44But the reality
25:45of the situation
25:46is you all
25:47both got
25:48what you paid for.
25:50Mr. Musk,
25:52you spent almost
25:52$300 million
25:53in dark money
25:55to pay for
25:56your friend,
25:57Mr. Trump,
25:58to become
25:58the president
25:59and to win
26:00this Republican
26:01majority
26:02who is trying
26:03to send
26:04our country
26:05into the largest
26:06deficit spend
26:07in American history.
26:09Mr. Trump,
26:10I mean,
26:12this is what
26:14happens when
26:14you sell
26:15your soul.
26:16I mean,
26:17you see what
26:18happens.
26:19So,
26:19I have a lot
26:20of love
26:20in my heart
26:21for people
26:21who are going
26:22through hard
26:22times and
26:24I know
26:24that,
26:25you know,
26:25both you guys
26:26are having
26:27a hard time,
26:28but I just
26:29have to say,
26:30for the sake
26:31of democracy,
26:32for the sake
26:33of the American
26:34people,
26:35and frankly,
26:36for the global
26:36security and safety
26:38of people
26:39all over the planet,
26:40y'all need
26:41to cut this
26:42drama out.
26:46I mean,
26:47we need to
26:49take care
26:49of our people.
26:51So,
26:51I'm with Musk
26:52on this one.
26:53I don't mean
26:53to take sides,
26:54Mr. President,
26:56but I'm going
26:56to say it.
26:58Kill the bill.
27:00And with that,
27:00I yield back.
27:02Thank you,
27:02Congresswoman Stansbury.
27:04Appreciate your comments
27:05and it has indeed
27:06been a messy day.
27:07I think that
27:09prices are getting
27:10too high at this
27:11moment in time,
27:11but Elon Musk
27:12is, I believe,
27:14really inflating
27:15the price of popcorn
27:15right now,
27:16and that's something
27:17that is going
27:18to affect my household.
27:20I wanted to continue
27:21back to Elon Musk
27:23because whatever
27:24side you take
27:25in this debate,
27:25we cannot forget
27:26that Elon Musk,
27:28again,
27:28repeatedly violated
27:29the law,
27:30made illegal
27:31spending cuts,
27:33tried to eliminate
27:33agencies created
27:34by Congress.
27:36This was not
27:36jaywalking.
27:37We're talking
27:37about serious crimes
27:38against the Constitution
27:39of the United States
27:40and his actions
27:42were characterized
27:43not only by
27:43their illegality,
27:45but also by
27:46their immorality
27:47and incompetence.
27:48The three I's.
27:50And the immorality
27:51we saw as you
27:52continue to cut
27:53programs that were
27:54meant to help
27:54our poorest
27:56and most vulnerable.
27:57Called Social Security,
27:58which is a lifeline
27:59program for all
28:01the seniors around
28:01the country,
28:02including the ones
28:03in the district
28:03I represent,
28:04called it a Ponzi
28:05scheme and cut
28:07so much of the
28:08workforce that,
28:08again,
28:09I've had many
28:10constituents now
28:10complaining they
28:11can't get access
28:12to their benefits,
28:13they can't get
28:13anyone on the phone
28:14when there's been
28:15a mistake.
28:16This seems like
28:16deliberate in its
28:17scope and they've
28:19been incompetent
28:19and I mentioned
28:20some of the things
28:21they've done as far
28:22as firing the
28:24nuclear inspectors,
28:26miscalculating
28:27Doge's savings,
28:29granting a Doge
28:30staffer access
28:31to edit sensitive
28:32treasury systems,
28:33prompting an
28:34internal forensic
28:35investigation,
28:36gutting the CFPB
28:38only to unsuspend
28:39staffers and
28:40uncancelled contracts
28:41after it became
28:42apparent that CFPB
28:44could no longer
28:44perform its legally
28:45mandated functions,
28:48inadvertently
28:48cancelling funding
28:49for Ebola
28:50prevention,
28:51uncancelling lease
28:52terminations after
28:53agency and
28:54congressional pushback,
28:55this could go on
28:56and on and on,
28:56but the point here
28:57is that this,
28:58again,
28:58was never about
28:59efficiency,
29:00it was never about
29:00finding waste,
29:01fraud, and abuse,
29:02that was always
29:03the big lie.
29:05What Elon Musk
29:06was trying to do
29:06was reshape government
29:08illegally against the
29:09express will of Congress
29:11and unfortunately my
29:12colleagues on the other
29:12side of the aisle
29:13failed to stand up
29:15to this abuse of law,
29:16this direct attack
29:17on our Constitution
29:18and our authorities.
29:20The courts thankfully
29:21have stepped up
29:22and right now
29:24the Trump administration
29:24and Doge are embroiled
29:25in over 252 lawsuits.
29:28They have lost
29:28almost all of these
29:29at various stages
29:30at the district court
29:31and appellate level
29:32including several
29:33in the Supreme Court
29:34and they are continuing
29:35trying to appeal
29:36to appeal
29:37but even as this
29:38has happened,
29:38many of our colleagues
29:39on the other side
29:40of the aisle,
29:41rather than stand up
29:42for Congress's
29:43authorities under
29:44the Constitution,
29:45they have tried
29:46to go after judges,
29:48they have threatened
29:48judges,
29:49tried to take away
29:49some of their authority
29:50and we saw that
29:52most recently
29:53in the big beautiful bill
29:55which I think
29:56Republicans are now
29:57realizing was actually
29:58a monstrosity,
29:59a Frankenstein level
30:00monstrosity
30:01of extreme provisions
30:03that many of them
30:04did not realize
30:05were in there
30:06such as the one
30:07in that bill
30:08that would effectively
30:09neuter the judiciary's
30:10power to hold
30:11any administration
30:12official in contempt.
30:14This provision
30:14is a little wonky
30:15but in essence
30:16it prohibits
30:16federal courts
30:17from enforcing
30:18contempt citations
30:19which a judge
30:20can issue
30:21for non-compliance
30:22of a court order.
30:24Now what this would do
30:25is effectively
30:25shield the Trump
30:26administration
30:27from wrongdoing
30:28that no judge
30:29could enforce
30:30any penalties
30:31against the Trump
30:32administration
30:32for failing
30:33to respond
30:34to court orders
30:34for failing
30:35to obey
30:35the constitution
30:36or the law
30:37and what is
30:39concerning about this
30:40is that we have
30:41found an increasing
30:42number of Republicans
30:43who are publicly
30:44admitting now
30:45they didn't realize
30:46that this provision
30:47was in the quote
30:47big beautiful bill
30:48that they passed
30:49and of course
30:50we all remember
30:51just a couple weeks back
30:52this bill was pushed
30:53through in the dark
30:54of night
30:54after 1 a.m.
30:56and it was clear
30:57that it was rushed
30:58through so quickly
30:59that most of our
30:59colleagues did not
31:01have time to read it
31:02did not understand
31:03what was in it
31:03did not have time
31:04to have their staffs
31:05review what was in it
31:06this was an unconscionable
31:07process
31:07that is leading
31:08to outrageous results
31:10we're also seeing
31:11other examples
31:12of provisions
31:13that my Republican
31:14colleagues were not
31:15aware was in the bill
31:16just earlier this week
31:18Marjorie Taylor Greene
31:19who I serve with
31:20on the oversight committee
31:21noted that she did not
31:23realize that
31:24there was a 10 year
31:25moratorium on
31:26AI regulations
31:27created as part of
31:28this big beautiful bill
31:30and said explicitly
31:31that she would oppose it
31:32well she had a chance
31:33to oppose it
31:33when the bill was
31:34on the floor
31:34but didn't read it
31:36I would suggest
31:36to my Republican
31:37colleagues
31:37that maybe reading
31:38the bills
31:39that we are passing
31:40is a good idea
31:41before you decide
31:42to vote for them
31:42particularly when
31:43you are rushing it
31:44through on a
31:45partisan line vote
31:46now look
31:48I come from
31:50a legal background
31:50I started my career
31:52turning down Wall Street
31:53to go work
31:55at the SEC
31:55to crack down
31:57on corporate fraud
31:58to uphold the rule of law
31:59I've continued fighting
32:01for the rule of law
32:01my whole career
32:02including as a law professor
32:03at UC Irvine
32:04and what we're seeing
32:06right now
32:06is deeply offensive
32:07to the rule of law
32:08that what we saw
32:09this last election cycle
32:11was Elon Musk
32:11spending 290 million dollars
32:13on behalf of Donald Trump
32:15and other Republican candidates
32:17290 million dollars
32:19a lot of money
32:20but that has paid off
32:21very well
32:22very good return on investment
32:23for Elon Musk
32:24because his wealth
32:25has gone up
32:26100 billion dollars
32:27with a B
32:28since he took office
32:30despite all the disasters
32:31we've seen
32:31despite the massively
32:32declining sales of Tesla
32:34his net wealth
32:35has gone way the hell up
32:37and that's because
32:38he uniquely
32:39even as other
32:40other spending gets cut
32:41willy nilly
32:42because a 21 year old coder
32:44named Big Balls
32:44decides to delete
32:45a line of code
32:46Elon Musk
32:47is getting massive
32:49new government contracts
32:50including
32:50an 8.5 billion dollar
32:53contract for Tesla
32:54from the GSA
32:55for electric vehicles
32:56a 2.4 billion dollar
32:58contract for Spacelink
32:59which was originally
33:00meant for Verizon
33:01but which was cancelled
33:02and mysteriously
33:03then transferred over
33:04to SpaceX
33:05which happens to be
33:06conveniently owned
33:07by Elon Musk
33:09and on and on
33:11and on
33:11now this looks
33:12like a quid pro quo
33:14this looks like
33:15something that should
33:16not be allowed to exist
33:17particularly when you
33:17have a man
33:18who is repeatedly
33:20flagrantly
33:21and knowingly
33:22violating the law
33:23every single day
33:24upending the Constitution
33:26and the damage
33:27to this country
33:28that we're going to see
33:29over the next
33:30several decades
33:31from
33:32that we're seeing
33:32already happen right now
33:34is going to be devastating
33:35just earlier
33:37last week
33:38I had a town hall
33:39at UC Irvine
33:40which I represent
33:41and as many people
33:42around the country
33:43are beginning to realize
33:44a lot of what's
33:45happening right now
33:46is threatening
33:47our economic present
33:48but also
33:49our economic future
33:50the massive cuts
33:52to science
33:52and research funding
33:53for universities
33:54has long been
33:56which have long been
33:57the basis
33:57for our innovation economy
33:59whether in California
34:01Boston
34:02Atlanta
34:02around the country
34:04we know that
34:05high end research
34:06creates jobs
34:07it leads to innovations
34:08it leads to new companies
34:10it's what has made
34:11America great
34:12over time
34:13and yet right now
34:15those cuts
34:16are massive
34:18right now
34:19we have seen
34:20NSA
34:20NIH
34:21and other agencies
34:22in the Trump administration
34:24illegally refuse
34:26to spend
34:26and allocate
34:27research funding
34:28that Congress
34:29has appropriated
34:31that in turn
34:32has led already
34:33to the firing
34:34of many grad students
34:35of programs
34:36of innovations
34:37but also
34:39concerningly
34:40we are starting
34:40to see
34:41the compounding effects
34:42of the attacks
34:43on legal immigrants
34:44here
34:44people here
34:45on student visas
34:46now you may recall
34:47that just a few weeks back
34:48the Trump administration
34:49announced
34:50that they would be
34:51rounding up
34:52a whole posse
34:53of students
34:54who had minor run-ins
34:55with the law
34:56in California
34:57in the University of California
34:58system alone
34:59there were something
34:59like 165 students
35:01here on valid student visas
35:03who had been arrested
35:04with no due process
35:06put into deportation proceedings
35:08in one case
35:09it was because
35:09they ran a stop sign
35:10in another case
35:11it was because
35:12they were in a
35:14domestic dispute
35:15their partner
35:15called the police
35:16when the police arrived
35:17they actually found
35:18that the immigrant
35:19the person here
35:20on student visa
35:21was not the abuser
35:23but actually probably
35:24had been abused
35:25they decided
35:25to not proceed
35:26with this
35:27but because there was
35:27a police report
35:28even one that falsely
35:30accused this immigrant
35:31that immigrant
35:31was put into
35:32deportation proceedings
35:33now
35:34the Trump administration
35:35did reverse that policy
35:37after a public outcry
35:38but we've seen
35:39foreign students
35:40the best and brightest
35:41that have traditionally
35:42come to this country
35:43to places like Harvard
35:45and MIT
35:45and UC San Francisco
35:47and Stanford
35:48they are not coming here
35:50they are going to other
35:51countries right now
35:52and that
35:54accumulated effect
35:55is draining our future
35:57right now
35:57we are talking about
35:59entire industries
36:01predicated on technology
36:02on research
36:03on life sciences
36:04that we expect to see
36:06massive declines in
36:07in 10, 15, 20 years
36:09we are robbing
36:10our future right now
36:11and for what
36:12I don't know
36:12to give Elon Musk
36:13a little bit more
36:14so the damage
36:15is going to be
36:16incalculable
36:16across the board
36:17but I think
36:18the biggest damage
36:19that we're going to see
36:20is to our public's trust
36:23in our institutions
36:24right now
36:25we're seeing corruption
36:26on a scale
36:27we have never seen before
36:28in the history
36:28of this country
36:29a 400 million dollar
36:31Qatari gift
36:32of a palace in the sky
36:33to Donald Trump
36:34was just the thing
36:35that made the news
36:36but meanwhile
36:37he's having dinners
36:38with massive donors
36:39who are giving
36:41billions and billions
36:42of dollars
36:42to his meme coin
36:43we're seeing
36:44bribes happen
36:45across the board
36:46we're seeing emoluments
36:47over and over
36:49and over
36:49to the president
36:50and his family
36:50and yes
36:51we're seeing
36:51Elon Musk
36:52getting a ransom
36:54from the federal government
36:56as far as new contracts
36:57that has personally
36:58benefited him
36:59to no end
37:00we have to start
37:02enforcing the rule of law
37:03in this country
37:03as someone
37:05who has always
37:05believed in the rule of law
37:06who stood closely
37:07side by side
37:08with our law enforcement officers
37:10with our prosecutors
37:11with those who are trying
37:13to uphold the rule of law
37:14in this country
37:14and the constitution
37:15I would urge my colleagues
37:17on the other side
37:18of the room
37:19to start thinking
37:20about that oath
37:21that we took
37:21when we took this office
37:23to support and defend
37:24the constitution
37:24those are not just words
37:26they are the foundation
37:27of what it means
37:29to serve in congress
37:29of what it means
37:30to serve in the federal government
37:32of what it means
37:33to be a patriotic American
37:34if you are not enforcing
37:35the constitution
37:37of the United States
37:37if you are not enforcing
37:38the rule of law
37:39and standing up
37:40for the authorities
37:41of congress
37:42which is a co-equal
37:43branch of government
37:44not a lackey
37:45of the president
37:46what do we stand for
37:47what are we doing here
37:48I know that many
37:50of my colleagues
37:51on the other side
37:51are scared
37:52of Donald Trump
37:53and Elon Musk
37:55frankly too
37:56but that should be
37:57no excuse
37:58for standing up
37:58and doing what is right
37:59and we have to stand up
38:01and have an accounting
38:02of all the damage
38:03that Elon Musk did
38:04during his time
38:05at Doge
38:05again as a special
38:07government employee
38:07who never disclosed
38:09his conflicts of interest
38:10who illegally exerted
38:12authority that SGE
38:13should never have
38:14that the president
38:15of the United States
38:16does not have
38:16we need a real accounting
38:18of what happened
38:19the damage that has been done
38:20as well as all of the laws
38:22and constitutional provisions
38:24that he
38:25and every other member
38:26of Doge has done
38:27this is the time to do it
38:29I would urge my colleagues
38:30to actually start
38:31stepping up
38:32for the constitution
38:32and with that
38:34I would yield
38:35the rest of my time
38:36thank you Mr. Speaker
38:37and with that
38:41I would also move
38:41that the house
38:42adjourn
38:43if you would have
38:43to hear it
38:44thank you
38:45thank you
38:46thank you