Musk targets “strangely wealthy” lawmakers in DOGE probe, names Pelosi, McConnell, Schumer

• Elon Musk has announced he will be launching a DOGE investigation into how wealthy lawmakers like Pelosi and McConnell amassed their multimillion-dollar fortunes on relatively modest salaries.
• Musk questions financial discrepancies, alleging there could be potential hidden money flows through NGOs.
• The probe targets leaders on both sides of the political aisle, including Schumer and Warren, over stock trades and wealth accumulation.
• Musk’s Wisconsin event doubled as a political rally, where he clashed with protesters.
• The investigation could spark debates over congressional ethics and transparency ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has turned the spotlight on Washington’s wealthiest lawmakers, announcing a sweeping Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) investigation into how members of Congress—including high-profile figures like Nancy Pelosi, Mitch McConnell, Chuck Schumer, and Elizabeth Warren—have amassed multimillion-dollar fortunes despite modest government salaries.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO made the revelation Sunday at a packed town hall in Wisconsin, where he also waded into state politics, handed out $1 million prizes, and sparred with protesters.

Musk’s move taps into long-simmering public skepticism about congressional stock trades and opaque wealth accumulation. “A lot of strangely wealthy members of Congress—I’m trying to connect the dots of how they became rich,” Musk told the crowd of 2,000. “How’d they get $20million if they’re earning $200,000 a year? Nobody can explain that. We’re gonna try to figure it out, and certainly stop it from happening.”

Focus on establishment figures

The DOGE probe zeroes in on bipartisan leaders whose net worths far exceed their $174,000 annual salaries. Public disclosures peg Schumer’s wealth at $2.3 million and Warren’s at $9 million, but Musk’s team questions discrepancies in financial trails. Pelosi, with an estimated $250 million net worth, and McConnell, whose fortune is tied to his wife’s family wealth, have faced scrutiny for years over stock trades coinciding with legislative actions.

Musk singled out the potential “circuitous route” for money flows, alleging funds sent overseas by agencies like USAID could circle back to lawmakers via NGOs. “They’ll [the government] send the money overseas to one NGO [non-governmental organization], then they’ll go through a bunch of them, and then I’m highly confident that a bunch of that money then comes back to the United States and lands in the pockets of the people you just mentioned,” he said when asked about Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).

The Wisconsin event doubled as a political rally for conservative state Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel. At the event, a protester attempted to heckle Musk, who immediately accused him of being sent there by liberal mega-donor George Soros.

“It was inevitable that at least a few Soros operatives would be in the audience,” he said.

A crusade against “corrupt” systems

Musk’s DOGE, empowered under the Trump administration, has slashed federal budgets and probed inefficiencies. But this investigation marks its most direct clash with Congress. While lawmakers are permitted to trade stocks, Musk’s team appears poised to scrutinize undisclosed conflicts or illicit enrichment.

The pushback is already brewing. Progressive protesters rallied outside Tesla stores nationwide this weekend, accusing Musk of overreach. Yet Musk’s base is cheering the disruption and hopeful that he can help Trump clean up the corruption in Washington, D.C.

As Musk’s DOGE digs deeper, the probe could reignite debates over congressional ethics and transparency. Whether it yields any degree of accountability or simply amounts to political theater remains unclear, but it is abundantly clear that the world’s richest man is not about to shy away from a fight with Washington’s wealthiest. Musk vowed to stop this type of corruption from happening in a promise that could reshape the 2026 midterms and beyond.

Sources for this article include:

DailyMail.co.uk

NYPost.com

LiveMint.com