Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a time-limited organization directed to “to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity” across scores of agencies, have a fandom among national Republicans, who now control the House, the Senate, and the presidency.
By contrast, national Democrats have formed an almost unified chorus of opposition, protesting against DOGE-inspired cuts to agencies and drawing attention to lawsuits aimed at it or related efforts by the Trump administration.
But there are limits to what the party out of power can do to dodge DOGE.
The party’s anti-DOGE messaging has been unified, from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on down.
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), who leads the center-left New Democrat Coalition, described Musk as an “unelected billionaire and shadow president” at a recent retreat for House Democrats outside Washington.
On X, the platform now owned by Musk, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Mo.) wrote that “there’s an immigrant taking people’s jobs … his name is Elon Musk.”
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Many Democrats say they support efforts to make the government more efficient but object to the Muskian approach, directed from within the executive branch through a chain of command that has been difficult to establish rather than by the legislative branch that passes laws and funds programs.
Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) told The Epoch Times that rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse “should be done in full view of the American people.”
“It should be debated. It should be the role of Congress,” she said.
Meanwhile, Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.), whose district includes territory near the District of Columbia, has introduced legislation with Democrats and Republicans to help fired probationary employees. It would prevent them from having to begin their probationary period all over again if they are ultimately rehired..
“We’re not seeing people who are, frankly, qualified to be making these decisions about efficiency,” she said of DOGE staff to NTD.
Some Democrats have highlighted their own work to address improper payments. Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) During a March 11 House Oversight hearing, Mfume highlighted legislation he supports, the Taxpayer Funds Oversight and Accountability Act, aimed at strengthening agencies’ internal finances and financial management planning across the government.
Others back greater scrutiny of the Pentagon, which has failed audits for years.
At the House Democrats’ retreat, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) told The Epoch Times she “would start with the Pentagon” in pinpointing federal waste, fraud, and abuse.
Schneider sounded more averse to anyone taking the DOGE axe to Pentagon spending, telling The Epoch Times his New Democrat Coalition backs a strong national defense.
“That’s where our work is going to stay,” he said.
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—Nathan Worcester
BOOKMARKS
President Donald Trump is warning that any future strikes against ships in the Red Sea by Yemeni Houthi terrorists will be viewed as coming from Iran. Trump said Iran is masterminding the attacks, and that Houthi attacks “will be met with great force, and there is no guarantee that that force will stop there.”
Officials in Texas say they haven’t traced the origins of a recent measles outbreak in that state. The outbreak began in January, and has circulated almost exclusively among the unvaccinated.
The Trump administration said it did not defy an order by a federal judge that prohibited the deportation of illegal immigrants to El Salvador, since the plane carrying those immigrants was already over international waters when the order was issued. “A single judge in a single city cannot direct the movements of an aircraft ... full of foreign alien terrorists who were physically expelled from U.S. soil,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
U.S. officials have deported Dr. Rasha Alawieh to Lebanon, after alleging she traveled abroad to attend the funeral of a terrorist. U.S. District Judge Leo T. Sorokin had issued a ruling that she not be deported without 48 hours notice, but Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers said they were not notified until after she had already left the country.
Trump said on March 17 that some pardons issued during former President Joe Biden’s administration are invalid, because they were signed with an autopen device and not by hand. Trump made the statement on social media, warning some recipients of those pardons “that they are subject to investigation at the highest level.”
—Stacy Robinson
