RELEASE: Rep. Friedman Leads Jewish House Members Demanding Answers on $200M Pentagon Contract with Elon Musk’s xAI Amid Grok Antisemitism Scandal
July 18, 2025
Highlights Grok’s antisemitic statements days after being “improved”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Friday, July 18, 2025, U.S. Representative Laura Friedman led nine of her colleagues demanding immediate answers from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth following the Department of Defense's $200 million contract with xAI to deploy “Grok for Government.”.
On July 8, Grok referred to itself as “MechaHitler,” praised Adolf Hitler, targeted individuals using antisemitic tropes, and generated detailed rape fantasies involving X users. These posts appeared days after Elon Musk, CEO of xAI, publicly declared that Grok had been “significantly improved,” raising urgent questions about his ongoing access and control over the AI — including whether similar unfiltered content could appear in government or military applications.
The lawmakers are calling on the Department to provide immediate answers to the following:
- Has xAI confirmed, and has the Department independently verified, that Mr. Musk cannot unilaterally access, modify, or influence “Grok for Government,” including altering responses or viewing sensitive or classified content?
- What technical, procedural, and contractual safeguards are in place to prevent unauthorized changes to “Grok for Governments” behavior, particularly for classified or mission-critical environments? Are such changes subject to formal review or Department approval and has that been done?
- Has the Department conducted an independent audit of Grok’s architecture, moderation systems, and failure points since the July 8 incident? Can the Department confirm that the root causes of Grok’s extremist outputs have been fully addressed and will never reappear in military or classified applications?
“If Mr. Musk retains the ability to directly alter outputs from ‘Grok for Government,’ it poses a serious and unacceptable risk to national security and American constitutional values,” wrote the 10 Jewish Members of Congress to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. “Without clear guardrails, there is no reason to believe the behavior of 'Grok for Government' in military applications will remain stable or aligned with DoD security and ethics standards. Mr. Musk’s personal disregard for basic safeguards, combined with the Department’s own recent appalling tolerance for antisemitism, require the creation of far more technological and institutional transparency than we have seen to date.”
The signatory list of 10 Members of Congress includes Friedman (CA-30), Bonamici (OR-1), Cohen (TN-9), Frankel (FL-22), Gottheimer (NJ-5), Jacobs (CA-51), Magaziner (RI-2), Raskin (MD-8), Sherman (CA-32), Wasserman Schultz (FL-25).
Friedman has repeatedly led efforts to call out antisemitism and antisemitic violence in the Trump Administration and elsewhere. These efforts include leading a letter pressing Secretary Hegseth over the promotion of Kingsley Wilson, calling out social media platforms for lack of oversight of harmful content, and urging the Appropriations Committee to address antisemitism in healthcare.
Dear Secretary Hegseth:
We write to express deep concern and request immediate clarification of your intentions regarding the Department of Defense’s recently announced $200 million contract with xAI to deploy “Grok for Government.” This shocking announcement came just days after Grok, the AI chatbot created by xAI, posted an avalanche of profoundly antisemitic, conspiratorial-minded and extremist content.
Specifically, on July 8, 2025, xAI’s Grok:
- Referred to itself as “MechaHitler,” praised Adolf Hitler, and advocated a Holocaust-style response to “anti-white hate.”
- Used antisemitic tropes like targeting individuals by Jewish surname for vilification.
- Generated graphic rape fantasies and gave step-by-step instructions for committing sexual assault on individual X users.
These posts were not isolated but widespread, repeated, and shockingly detailed. They appeared immediately after Mr. Elon Musk, CEO of xAI, publicly stated on July 4 that Grok had been “significantly improved.” The proximity of these events raises grave questions about Mr. Musk’s potential direct influence over the output of Grok for Government, and the risk to American national defense from using a compromised product subject to the whims of an unaccountable CEO with clear extremist predilections.
It is deeply troubling that the Department proceeded with this contract without publicly addressing these events or acknowledging the risks they pose. This decision fits a broader and increasingly visible pattern of the Department turning a blind eye to antisemitism in its own ranks. That includes the Department’s defense of Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson, who has a documented history of antisemitic rhetoric and conspiratorial posts.
If Mr. Musk retains the ability to directly alter outputs from “Grok for Government,” it poses a
serious and unacceptable risk to national security and American constitutional values. We
respectfully request that the Department respond to the following questions:
- Has xAI confirmed, and has the Department independently verified, that Mr. Musk cannot unilaterally access, modify, or influence “Grok for Government,” including altering responses or viewing sensitive or classified content?
- What technical, procedural, and contractual safeguards are in place to prevent unauthorized changes to “Grok for Governments” behavior, particularly for classified or mission-critical environments? Are such changes subject to formal review or Department approval and has that been done?
- Has the Department conducted an independent audit of Grok’s architecture, moderation systems, and failure points since the July 8 incident? Can the Department confirm that the root causes of Grok’s extremist outputs have been fully addressed and will never reappear in military or classified applications?
Without clear guardrails, there is no reason to believe the behavior of “Grok for Government” in military applications will remain stable or aligned with DoD security and ethics standards. Mr. Musk’s personal disregard for basic safeguards, combined with the Department’s own recent appalling tolerance for antisemitism, require the creation of far more technological and institutional transparency than we have seen to date. Elon Musk’s irresponsible and persistent disregard for safeguards cannot be allowed inside federal systems, especially where our national security and fundamental values are at risk.
Sincerely,
[SIGNED MEMBERS OF CONGRESS]
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