You would never guess from how often he comes up in their talking points, but Democrats are eager for Elon Musk to exit the political stage.

More than 70 House Democrats are demanding that President Trump ensure that Musk leaves his government role by May 30. But is it much ado about nothing?

Musk and Trump have both signaled that the Tesla billionaire's time as head of DOGE is ending in the near future.

Still, House Democrats are determined to create a controversy surrounding the length of his tenure.

Dems pressure Musk

In their letter to Trump demanding Musk's removal, House Democrats echoed familiar themes, accusing Trump of empowering an "unelected billionaire" to cause havoc across the federal government.

“In his short time in government, Elon Musk has done enormous harm to working Americans," the letter read, adding, “While millions of Americans are suffering, Musk is continuing to enrich himself and break ethics laws.”

“Considering the repeated violations of the law by Musk and your administration, we demand an immediate public statement from your administration making clear that Musk will resign and surrender all decision making authority, as required by law, by May 30th,” they wrote.

While Democrats claim Musk is busy enriching himself, the Tesla CEO has actually lost money since his involvement with the Trump administration began, and his Tesla business has been targeted by a wave of violent attacks.

Where's the controversy?

Musk has already indicated he is likely to step aside when his term as a special government employee ends after 130 days.

Of course, Democrats cannot force Trump to fire anyone, so this letter is little more than a messaging exercise. It is hard to imagine the White House will give it much consideration.

And while Democrats make a fuss about removing Musk, they are probably more reluctant to see him go than they let on, judging from how often they attack him. The fact is that Musk has been a constant rhetorical punching bag for Democrats as they struggle to repackage their defeated, woke party as a champion of the working-class.

At a Cabinet meeting this week, Musk touted $150 billion in savings from his aggressive campaign to cut "waste, fraud, and abuse," which is less than the $1 trillion target he initially set out to meet.

"I'm excited to announce that we anticipate savings in FY 26 from reduction of waste and fraud by $150 billion," Musk told Trump. "And I mean, some of it is just absurd ‒ like people getting unemployment insurance who haven't been born yet."