Musk Emerges as Target For Democrats as They Target Companies That Courted Trump After Midterm Rout

Elon Musk is emerging as a central target of a congressional investigation blitz as Democrats prepare to examine how corporate America cultivated President Donald Trump and what businesses gained from those relationships.

After winning House and Senate majorities, Democrats are identifying Musk's companies, Apple and Meta, as early investigative priorities, The Washington Post reported Friday. The preparations have sent executives scrambling for legal advice ahead of the new Congress, when Democrats will take control of committees with subpoena power.

For Musk, one potential inquiry reaches into national security. House lawmakers are preparing to examine Trump's reported use of Grok, Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot, in planning the military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, according to two people familiar with the plans cited by the Post.

The proposed investigation would put the relationship between Musk's technology businesses and presidential decision-making under scrutiny. The report describes preparations for oversight, rather than findings that Musk or his companies broke the law.

Washington law firms are already competing for the work. Multiple firms have prepared pitches to represent Musk personally, anticipating extensive subpoena demands and potentially lucrative legal assignments, the Post reported. Two people familiar with those discussions questioned whether his existing legal team could handle the expected workload.

Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., who is set to chair the House Oversight Committee, distilled the coming confrontation into two words on election night: "Lawyer up." Apple faces potential scrutiny over its hosting of tracking applications used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the Post.

Lawmakers are also considering investigating Meta's requirements that local governments sign nondisclosure agreements concerning data center development. Apple, Meta, X and Musk did not immediately respond to the newspaper's requests for comment.

The corporate preparations extend beyond established technology giants. Some venture capitalists have advised startups to complete fundraising before year's end, concerned that congressional hearings or restrictions on Pentagon spending could make financing harder to secure, the Post reported, citing a person familiar with the advice.

Jamie Bair, who leads the congressional investigations practice at Crowell & Moring, told the newspaper that corporate inquiries could help lawmakers obtain information that administration officials decline to provide. Companies, he said, may be more willing to answer detailed questions about their dealings with federal officials.

"That is the playbook you're going to see," Bair said. Law firms are independently warning clients to prepare. In a November 4 advisory, Covington & Burling identified government contractors, beneficiaries of regulatory relief, donors to administration initiatives and organizations associated with immigration enforcement as potential investigative targets.