Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., is calling for Elon Musk to face a congressional subpoena and formal investigation over Department of Government Efficiency spending cuts, arguing the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive "possibly sentenced to death" 4.5 million children worldwide by dismantling USAID. Speaking Saturday on the "I've Had It" podcast, Khanna framed the accountability push as a party priority if Democrats retake the House or Senate.
The Accountability Argument
Khanna was pointed in his language, drawing a direct contrast between what DOGE's supporters celebrate and what he argues the program cost. While Musk's allies highlight the creation of 4,400 millionaires through the efficiency initiative, Khanna insists that framing papers over a vastly larger human toll in foreign aid-dependent communities. "He needs to answer for that. He needs to be subpoenaed," Khanna said, making clear he views the matter as unfinished political business, not a chapter to close.
Podcast host Jennifer Welch backed the call for investigation, characterizing Musk's role in $DOGE's spending cuts as direct responsibility for "killing" millions of the world's poorest people. Welch also pressed a political-hypocrisy angle, arguing that a Republican party that claims the pro-life mantle cannot simultaneously celebrate a policy she contends caused mass civilian deaths abroad.
The Trillionaire Backdrop
The renewed political pressure arrives after Musk became the world's first trillionaire following SpaceX's record-breaking initial public offering earlier this month, which entrenched his position as the globe's wealthiest individual. For Democratic critics, that wealth milestone has sharpened rather than softened the case for scrutiny — the fortune and the policy cuts are now inextricably linked in their messaging.
Fox News Digital reached out to Khanna's office, Tesla, and SpaceX for comment.
The Wealth Tax Parallel
Khanna is running a simultaneous legislative track with the "Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act," which would impose a 5% annual wealth tax on assets — not just income — exceeding $1 billion. In a March press release, Khanna argued that Silicon Valley's wealth generation has widened a structural economic divide, leaving ordinary families unable to cover health care and housing costs, and that a modest billionaire levy could fund broader opportunity without restraining innovation.
The political exposure Musk faces is now two-pronged: legislative risk from a direct wealth tax and investigative risk should Democrats return to a congressional majority. How seriously institutional investors price that combination will hinge on where they put the odds of a Democratic House or Senate after the next election cycle — and that calculus is still very much in motion.