In early 2025, a handful of legislative proposals emerged in the U.S. Congress, sparking conversations about Elon Musk’s role in the federal government. These new bills followed President Donald Trump creating the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) through Executive Order 14158 and appointing Musk to oversee the department. With his new role, Musk’s influence raised eyebrows, leading to many, many news stories and the introduction of several bills— the Stop Musk Act, the Nobody Elected Elon Musk Act, the BAD DOGE Act, and more. Generally, these bills aim to address growing concerns around accountability and governance, but there are also many, differing Resolutions that have been proposed so far this year. So, this week, we’ll take a closer look at these bills, the reasons behind them, and what they could mean for the future of government oversight.
Elon Musk, the Executive Order, and DOGE
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and several other high-profile companies, stepped into a controversial federal role in early 2025 when President Donald Trump created the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) via Executive Order 14158. The department’s stated goal was to streamline federal operations and reduce inefficiencies across government agencies. While cutting bureaucratic waste often enjoys bipartisan support, Musk’s appointment—made without Senate confirmation or the usual vetting process—quickly drew widespread concern.
As an unelected private citizen with vast business interests, Musk’s leadership sparked intense debate over the increasingly blurred lines between public service and private influence. Critics argue that Musk’s leadership could lead to conflicts of interest, as he has not only maintained substantial control over private ventures but also made headlines for his substantial political donations—most notably, a $250 million contribution to Trump’s re-election campaign. This financial support has led many to question the motivations behind Musk’s appointment and whether it represents a deepening entanglement of business interests and government power.
The creation of DOGE itself has raised alarms about the potential for unchecked authority, granting a private citizen the power to oversee key federal functions. Lawmakers have cited DOGE’s lack of transparency, its sweeping access to sensitive data (including Social Security and IRS records), and its controversial early actions—such as mass layoffs, a hiring freeze, and directives perceived as retaliatory toward civil servants. These developments have fueled deeper fears about the erosion of institutional checks and the risks of privatizing public governance, leading Congress to respond with a slate of new legislation.
A look at three Federal Bills
HR 994 – The Stop Musk Act
Introduced by Rep. Maxine Dexter, the Stop Musk Act is designed to reinforce and expand whistleblower protections for federal employees working within or in connection to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Specifically, the bill prohibits any personnel actions—including demotions, terminations, or reassignments—taken in retaliation against employees who disclose misconduct, unethical behavior, or violations of the law by Elon Musk or his designees.
Supporters argue the bill is essential to safeguard the integrity of the federal workforce, especially under unconventional leadership structures. It aims to ensure that civil servants can raise alarms about potentially unlawful or harmful directives without fear of reprisal, and seeks to preserve a culture of accountability within government institutions.
HR 1145 – The Nobody Elected Elon Musk Act
Sponsored by Rep. Melanie Stansbury, this bill proposes holding Elon Musk personally liable for legal claims stemming from DOGE’s actions—especially those involving violations of federal labor laws, data privacy regulations, national security risks, or the misuse of federal appropriations.
The bill reflects deep concerns about the concentration of public power in the hands of an unelected private individual. It aims to close legal loopholes that might otherwise allow Musk to evade responsibility for decisions made through DOGE, and to ensure that individuals exercising de facto governmental authority are subject to the same standards of accountability as official appointees. Proponents argue this bill is a necessary guardrail against future abuses of power under similar arrangements.
HR 1535 – The BAD DOGE Act
The Bolstering America’s Democracy and Demanding Oversight and Government Ethics (BAD DOGE) Act, introduced by Rep. Dave Min, takes the most comprehensive approach of the three. The bill calls for a full repeal of Executive Order 14158, which created the Department of Government Efficiency, effectively dissolving DOGE and terminating Musk’s role within the federal government.
Beyond eliminating DOGE, the legislation would bar the executive branch from using similar mechanisms to establish future departments that bypass Senate confirmation and standard oversight processes. Supporters of the bill argue that DOGE’s existence represents a dangerous precedent—granting vast influence to a private figure with minimal checks and balances. The bill’s repeal provision would render the executive order null and void, restoring traditional guardrails around federal agency formation and appointments.
A Surge of Resolutions
The trio of federal bills may be getting most of the spotlight, but they’re just the beginning. Since the formation of DOGE, lawmakers have responded with a wave of resolutions—some procedural, others symbolic—that speak to just how deeply Elon Musk’s new role is reshaping political discourse. From national policy concerns to protests against Tesla, the fallout has been loud, wide-ranging, and, honestly, kind of surreal.
Let’s start with SRes.165, which takes aim at reports that Musk and Trump are planning massive layoffs at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The resolution pushes back hard, citing the risk to veterans’ access to care and the chaos it could cause for the VA workforce. The message: streamlining shouldn’t come at the expense of those who served.
Two other resolutions (HRes. 286 and HRes. 264) focus in on something we’ve been hearing a lot about lately: artificial intelligence. Both call for more transparency into DOGE’s use of AI in federal operations and demand clarity around the security clearances being handed out to Musk’s hand-picked team. As we explored earlier this year, AI regulation is already top of mind for many in Congress, and Musk’s freewheeling approach isn’t exactly putting anyone at ease.
HRes186 digs deeper into potential conflicts of interest, urging an investigation into how Musk’s control of both private companies and a public agency might be bleeding into one another. Lawmakers behind the resolution are calling for records—emails, contracts, internal memos—that might show whether DOGE has been used to benefit Musk’s businesses.
Then there’s the political drama. HRes132 formally censures Rep. Robert Garcia for making public comments that some perceived as inciting hostility toward Musk. And on the flip side, HRes. 285 condemns actual attacks on Tesla facilities, linking them to public frustration over Musk’s government role. Taken together, they show just how polarized things have become—not just between parties, but within them.
Meanwhile, at the state level, legislatures in Georgia, Tennessee, and elsewhere are weighing in with their own symbolic resolutions. Some are cheering Musk on as a visionary disruptor, while others are warning that his appointment marks a serious threat to democratic norms.
Public and Political Reactions
Unsurprisingly, the introduction of these bills has stirred up plenty of debate. Supporters say they’re a much-needed check on what they see as a dangerous overreach, an unelected billionaire steering a federal department with little oversight. To them, it’s about protecting democratic norms and keeping public institutions accountable.
On the flip side, defenders of DOGE see this entire situation it as a bold experiment. They argue that Musk’s outsider status and tech-forward mindset are exactly what’s needed to shake up a slow, bloated bureaucracy.
No matter where you land, one thing’s clear: DOGE hasn’t just restructured government, it’s ignited a broader conversation about where public service ends and private influence begins.
Looking Ahead
As the Stop Musk Act, Nobody Elected Elon Musk Act, and BAD DOGE Act work their way through Congress, their future is still up in the air. But regardless of whether they pass, they’ve already made their mark by spotlighting a bigger question: How do we keep government accountable when power shifts outside traditional structures?
In a time when the lines between corporate leadership and public authority are getting blurrier, the conversation sparked by DOGE isn’t going away anytime soon.
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