Musk reveals DOGE could review 'strangely wealthy' members of Congress

Elon Musk spoke at a town hall in Wisconsin Sunday night and suggested that his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team investigate how certain members of Congress have achieved great wealth.

The Tesla CEO hinted at DOGE's next investigative actions after an aide asked for evidence of funds transferred from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to Rep. Maxine Waters, a California Democrat.

Musk also wanted to know whether Sen. Adam Schiff, of the same California party, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York would have benefited in such transactions.

"They - referring to the government - they would send the money overseas to an NGO, then they would go through several of them, and then I'm pretty sure a large portion of that money came back to the United States and landed in the pockets of the people you just mentioned," Musk responded to the aide.

Capitol Hill lawmakers became "strangely wealthy"

All indications are that there are questions about how Capitol Hill lawmakers became "strangely wealthy" despite their comparatively modest public salaries.

Rank-and-file members of Congress earn $174,000 annually. Last year, Musk himself helped kill a bill to increase congressional pay and subsequently supported a pay hike as a measure to combat corruption.

The reality is that dozens of lawmakers who have spent decades in Congress are millionaires.

Among the wealthiest are former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has a net worth of about $252 million, and Senator Rick Scott - Republican from Florida -, whose personal net worth is around $552 million.

Pelosi's wealth comes largely from her and her husband, venture capitalist Paul Pelosi's, lucrative investments in companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Netflix. Scott's wealth also comes from family investments as he has stated.

Elon Musk, whose net worth, according to Bloomberg, stands at $330 billion, remains the world's richest man.