‘STOP ELON Act’ introduced by Tennessee lawmakers

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Two Tennessee lawmakers have introduced the “STOP ELON Act,” which they say aims to hold people accountable for unlawfully interfering with the distribution of government benefits that families rely on.

Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) and Rep. Jason Powell (D-Nashville) introduced the act, which is also called the “Shielding Tennesseans from Oligarchic Power & Eliminating Lawless Obstruction of Necessities Act.”

If passed, SB 1128 would create a new offense of interfering with a person’s receipt of a loan, grant, or financial assistance that the person or entity is lawfully entitled to receive from any level of government. According to the bill, this offense would be punished as theft and authorize the victim to bring a civil action to recover the funds lost.

This includes the potential loss of Social Security payments, Medicare benefits, grants, and other financial distributions.

The pair of Nashville Democrats say that this act comes in response to reports that Elon Musk accessed the U.S. Treasury Department’s federal payment system.

“If Elon Musk illegally hurts Tennesseans, he should go to jail regardless of being a trillionaire or whatever and regardless of whether he’s got a permission slip from the president. Whether through malice or incompetence, if he unlawfully blocks our citizens from getting their Social Security checks or reimbursement from Medicaid or Medicare, his vast wealth should be on the table to compensate the people who get hurt,” said Sen. Yarbro. “We may not get bipartisan support this week while our more partisan colleagues are enjoying the sugar high of shuttering DEI programs and picking out vacation spots in Gaza, but you’ll see a bipartisan response materialize quick enough if the overreach of some 20-year-old leads to the closing of preschools, overdose prevention programs and rural hospitals.”

“Tennesseans who work hard and play by the rules should never have to worry about a billionaire meddling in their financial security,” said Rep. Powell. “People like Elon Musk need to understand that they are not invincible and the STOP ELON Act makes it crystal clear—no one is above the law. If you interfere with a person’s rightful benefits, you will be held accountable.”

The lawmakers added that if this act is passed, individuals who obstruct lawful government payments to citizens or organizations would face criminal penalties:

“The obstruction of benefits valued at $1,000 or less would be charged as a Class A misdemeanor with increasing penalties up to the obstruction of benefits valued at $250,000 or more, which would be charged as a Class A felony and carry significant prison time.”

So far, during the 114th General Assembly, Sen. Yarbro has sponsored 24 bills surrounding multiple topics, including cannabis, education, road rage and more. As of the publishing of this article, it’s unknown how many bills Rep. Powell has sponsored.

On Wednesday, WSMV4 learned that Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti would be reviewing Tennessee House Democratic Leader Karen Camper’s (D-Memphis) request for him to launch an investigation after Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) gained access to critical federal systems.

Musk, according to the White House, has been working for President Trump as a special government employee. His team, DOGE, has received access to sensitive payment systems at the U.S. Department of Treasury, according to reports.

Trump said that he believes Musk is doing a good job and is a “big cost cutter.”

“Sometimes we won’t agree with it and we’ll not go where he wants to go. But I think he’s doing a great job.”

WSMV4 has reached out to Tennessee Republican lawmakers for a statement or reaction to the “STOP ELON Act.” We have yet to hear back at the time of this article’s publishing.

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