House Oversight Democrats lost a vote to subpoena Elon Musk after the majority of Republicans went against them.

House Oversight ranking member Stephen Lynch (D-MA) requested a vote to subpoena Musk, arguing that he should face scrutiny for the power he wielded over the past six months. At the committee meeting, Lynch displayed large signs critiquing Musk, including one saying, “Was Elon Musk on drugs when he stole your private data?”

“Since President Trump’s inauguration, he has given Elon Musk free reign to terrorize our civil servants,” Lynch said, adding that Musk, the Department of Government Efficiency, and the Trump administration threatened “the privacy and security of all Americans.”

“Musk has been operating without any oversight whatsoever, while posing a very real risk of violating security and privacy laws,” he said.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) presided over the committee in place of Chairman James Comer (R-KY), who was absent.

The proceedings involved a fair amount of drama, with Democrats saying Republicans were manipulating the vote as Mace suspended the hearing until Republicans could be present to participate. The “nays” vote ultimately prevailed, 21-20.

This was the second unsuccessful attempt by House Oversight Democrats to subpoena Musk.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) struggled as Musk went rogue and vocally opposed President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” bill. When asked about Musk’s opposition, Trump said he would talk with the former DOGE head.

MUSK SAYS TRUMP WOULD HAVE LOST ELECTION WITHOUT HIM AMID PUBLIC DISPUTE

“Elon is a good friend. We texted late last night. We’re going to talk this morning,” Trump said. “He seems pretty dug in right now, and I can’t quite understand the motivation behind it.”

After that comment, Trump and Musk got into a public feud over electric vehicle mandates, which ended in the reconciliation bill. Musk said, “The Big Ugly Bill will INCREASE the deficit to $2.5 trillion!”