Exclusive: House Democrats probe Elon Musk's conflicts of interest with NASA

• Rep Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.) and Rep. Gery Connolly (D-Va.) sent a letter to Iris Lan, NASA's chief legal officer, requesting information and documents by April 21.
• They asked how NASA is ensuring that Musk isn't exploiting the agency to enrich himself and his companies, which they said would violate ethics rules for his position as a special government employee.

What they're saying: "At NASA, where Mr. Musk has both benefited from significant contracts and has the potential to receive vast amounts of new business, his defiance of recusal laws and control of operations directly benefit his businesses," the letter said.

• "The known conflicts of interest presented by this arrangement are illegal and must be addressed immediately."
• SpaceX didn't immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.
• They requested a list of actions NASA is taking to ensure Musk isn't permitted access to information that would give his businesses an advantage over competitors.

By the numbers: SpaceX has received more than $15 billion in funding from NASA, the Washington Post reported last month.

• The agency has slated more than $525 million to SpaceX since President Trump took office and Musk began slashing other federal funding.

Context: The Federal Aviation Administration has investigated and fined SpaceX multiple times, including for alleged safety violations.

• Trump tapped Jared Isaacman, a billionaire commercial astronaut and close associate of Musk, as the next head of NASA.

Zoom out: Musk's favorability ratings have dipped considerably since Trump took office, with a mass nationwide protest over the weekend targeting his involvement in the federal bureaucracy.

• A separate movement, #TeslaTakedown, targeting another one of his companies, urges people to sell their vehicles and get rid of their stock.

Read the full letter:

Go deeper: Elon Musk is on a losing streak