WASHINGTON (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.