WASHINGTON, Dec 20 (Reuters) - The top Democrat on the

House of Representatives Appropriations Committee said on Friday

that Republicans in Congress were protecting Elon Musk's Chinese

investments by scrapping provisions restricting U.S.

investments.

Representative Rosa DeLauro said in a letter that Musk, the

CEO of electric car maker Tesla, may have upended the government

funding process to remove a provision that would regulate U.S.

investments in China given his "extensive investments in China

in key sectors and his personal ties with Chinese Communist

Party leadership, and calls into question the real reason for

Musk's opposition to the original funding deal."

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for

comment.

President-elect Donald Trump has named as Musk, a

billionaire, as co-head of a project to cut government costs.