By NewsMata
Republicans are trying to rein in Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency, amid his efforts to drastically cut federal spending and reduce the size of the federal workforce.
Newsweek has contacted Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Upon his return to office in January, President Donald Trump created DOGE via an executive order, and it has since recommended the firing of more than 200,000 federal workers, and about 75,000 federal employees have accepted buyout plans known as “deferred resignations,” the Office of Personnel Management reported. According to The Wall Street Journal, DOGE has also cut about $2.6 billion from government spending.
For the first time since the initiative began, congressional Republicans are pushing to impose checks and balances on Musk and exert more control over DOGE’s cuts. The move signals a growing effort by Republicans to reclaim Congress‘ authority over federal spending.
Elon Musk at the Capitol following a meeting with Senate Republicans in Washington, D.C., on March 5. J. Scott Applewhite/AP
What To Know
In private meetings with Musk this week, Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate urged the billionaire to send DOGE’s cuts through Congress, CNN reported.
The cuts have faced legal challenges and have provoked an outcry from voters, many of whom have voiced their frustration at Republican town halls.
In a meeting that lasted over an hour, Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky and a staunch advocate for reducing government spending, said Musk’s cuts should be processed as rescission packages to withstand legal challenges, CNN reported.
A rescission package rescinds previously approved funding and requires only a simple majority vote in both the GOP-controlled Senate and House. “In order to make it real, in order to make it go beyond the moment of the day, it needs to come back in the form of a rescission package,” Paul said.
Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, also pushed for a rescission package, CNN reported.
When asked, as he was leaving a meeting on Wednesday, whether he supported a rescission package, Musk told reporters, “Sure.” He was also asked whether Congress should have a vote on DOGE’s cuts, to which he replied, “Well, they do have a vote on it.”
The speaker of the House of Representatives has said he and Musk speak “almost daily,” and in the meeting with GOP senators, Musk gave out his cellphone number, expressing a desire to work closely with the lawmakers.
In a meeting with House Republicans, Musk distanced himself from the widespread federal firings, blaming department heads, CNN reported. He also acknowledged that DOGE had made mistakes, some of which required reversals.
According to Representative Derrick Van Orden, a Republican from Wisconsin, Musk told lawmakers that recently announced plans to cut more than 70,000 jobs at the Department of Veterans Affairs “wasn’t a DOGE decision,” CNN reported.
Representative Russell Fry, a Republican from South Carolina, said Musk had acknowledged errors and assured lawmakers they would be corrected.
What People Are Saying
Representative Rich McCormick, a Republican from Georgia, told CNN of Elon Musk: “If he just takes a half-step back, we’ll do something that I think can be compassionate and at the same time something that’s impactful when it comes to saving Americans money.”
Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina and the chair of the Senate Budget Committee, told CNN: “What we got to do as Republicans is capture their work product, put it in a bill and vote on it. We need to capture this in the legislative process to make it real. … It is time for the White House now to go on offense. We are losing altitude here.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, told CNN’s Dana Bash on Tuesday of the cuts to the federal workforce: “You also have to pay attention to the aftermath of that and how it impacts people. I mean, these are real people. They need to be treated that way.”
Representative Jeff Van Drew, a Republican from New Jersey, told The Washington Post on February 25: “My concern is that we use a scalpel … and not use a sledgehammer. We have to be really careful that we’re cutting things that don’t hurt everyday people.”
Senator John Curtis, a Republican from Utah, told CBS‘s Face the Nation on February 23: “If I could say one thing to Elon Musk it’s: ‘Please put a dose of compassion in this. These are real people. These are real lives. These are mortgages. It’s a false narrative to say we have to cut and you have to be cruel to do it as well.”