Hundreds of protesters and a group of Democratic lawmakers took to the streets outside the Department of the Treasury in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, decrying what they called Elon Musk’s “hostile takeover” of federal financial systems as corporate power continues to tighten its grip on public institutions.
“We will see you in the courts, in congress, in the streets. Elon Musk is a ‘Nazi neo baby,” declared Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Ma.), “a godless, lawless billionaire who no one elected.”
Ayanna Pressley: "Elon Musk is a Nazi nepo baby." pic.twitter.com/2xF3zSBGLn
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 4, 2025
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Tx.) also laid into Musk. “We are going to be in your face, we are gonna be on your asses, and we are gonna make sure you understand what democracy looks like, because this ain’t it!
BOOM!!! Rep. Jasmine Crocket brings a DYNAMITE speech outside the USAID building and puts every Republican on notice.
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) February 4, 2025
Every American should see what REAL leadership looks like. pic.twitter.com/yP9QJgIdys
Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Ca.) was even more direct. “It is total corruption for an unelected, unqualified billionaire like Elon Musk to take control of our government to have access [to our] information we use when we are trying to get a mother fucking tax return.”
HOLY SHIT!! Rep. Kamlager-Dove:
— CALL TO ACTIVISM (@CalltoActivism) February 4, 2025
“It is total corruption for an unelected unqualified billionaire like Elon Musk to…take control of our government to have access… of the information we use when we are trying to get a motherfucking tax return.”
pic.twitter.com/MxNpyuIRkv
A dozen members of Congress, including Maxine Waters, Al Green, Ayanna Pressley, Chuck Schumer, Jeff Merkley, and Richard Blumenthal, joined the condemnation.
“He has access to all our information, our social security numbers, the federal payment system,” said Representative Maxwell Frost, highlighting the dangers of private control over public financial infrastructure. “What’s going to stop him from stealing taxpayer money?”
Several lawmakers, including Crockett, Pressley, Frost, and Jamie Raskin, attempted to enter the Treasury building to confront officials directly but were turned away—an emblematic moment of how unaccountable power structures in Washington protect corporate interests over public well-being.
As the demonstration unfolded, Bloomberg reported that the Treasury Department claimed Musk’s team had been granted only “read-only” access to “coded data” within the government’s payments system, attempting to downplay concerns. A letter from Jonathan Blum, the Treasury’s principal deputy assistant secretary for legislative affairs, assured lawmakers that the system remains “robust and effective” and that no valid government payment requests had been rejected.
But assurances from a government increasingly captured by billionaires did little to quell protesters’ fears. Many questioned why Musk—a billionaire whose interests in AI, automation, and corporate monopolization are well-documented—was involved with these systems in the first place.
American’s information is at risk. What does Elon Musk do with everything he touches? He makes money!”
The anger and resistance outside the Treasury reflect a growing awareness that billionaires like Musk are not just playing with social media companies or electric cars—they are infiltrating the systems that control the basic functions of American life, and if left unchecked, they will privatize, monetize, and exploit them at the expense of the working class.
