After midterm wins, Democrats set sights on Elon Musk as calls grow to investigate DOGE

After their midterm election victories, Democrats are now turning their attention to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the cost-cutting effort once led by Elon Musk. Several party leaders say the department's work should be investigated, and they expect at least one congressional committee to do so.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said DOGE had been a catastrophe for America. "I had no specific plan," he 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."

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, D-Ill., agreed that DOGE is worthy of an investigation. Although he said he had never heard anything like that about a potential probe of Musk and DOGE, he believes the department's work should be examined. "I think there should be a lot of inspection of what DOGE did," he said. "I think that was pretty awful."

Musk helped launch DOGE at the start of President Donald Trump's second term. The department's stated purpose was to root out waste and bring more transparency to federal government spending.

DOGE's efforts included deferred resignations and buyouts of employees at federal agencies. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the federal workforce contracted by about 250,000 employees during 2025, a downsizing to which DOGE's work contributed.

Another concern about DOGE is that the department allegedly had access to Americans' sensitive personal information. Raskin said, "I mean the whole thing was premised on a lie, and our private information was completely compromised by it."

Meanwhile, Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries sidestepped questions about ending the filibuster and launching a probe of Elon Musk after the Democrats' midterm wave. But the demand for an investigation inside the party is growing louder.

A 182-page blueprint from a progressive group maps out potential Democratic investigations into Trump and his corporate allies. After the midterm wins, the party is rallying to examine corruption under the Trump administration.

Raskin's words make clear that no specific plan for an investigation has yet been finalised. But he is confident that at least one committee will investigate DOGE's work, with the central question being what the department did during Musk's time at its head.

The Democrats' move reflects the party's new priorities after the midterms. The shrinking of the federal workforce through DOGE, the steps taken in the name of cutting spending, and the use of personal data could all now come under investigation.