Washington, DC – Congressional Republicans are planning to work closely with the Tesla CEO Elon Musk And former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, the pair co-led Trump’s newly formed spending-cutting plan, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The DOGE pair made the rounds with lawmakers in Washington, DC on Thursday, spending the morning with members Senate DOGE Caucus before going to a meeting with House GOP leaders and House DOGE Caucus representatives.
The pair, who are spearheading President-elect Trump’s efforts to cut government spending and strengthen government efficiency in the incoming Trump administration, ended their day by addressing a joint meeting with Republicans from both chambers on Capitol Hill.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Ga., the incoming chairwoman of the DOGE House subcommittee, said during the meeting that Musk told lawmakers he had a “naughty list” and a “nice list.”
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the newly announced co-chairman of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), arrives on Capitol Hill with his son on December 5, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker)
“More will be expressed in the coming days,” Johnson said as he left the meeting. “Stay tuned for more to come.”
The co-chairman of the DOGE House Caucus said there was a “huge discussion” on education and redeployment of government employees during the meeting with Kasturi and Ramaswamy.
“There is so much waste, fraud and abuse. There is so much inefficiency. Where do we start?” DOGE Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., said.
He suggested there is already “low-hanging fruit” to improve government efficiency that Republicans can agree on, which includes education and the federal workforce issues.
“There was a big discussion about education. There was a big discussion about the retirement of government employees as they exist in programs across the country. This is not a ‘pick your program and choose it and make a deal.’ This is an ideas forum,” said co-chair Rep. Pete Sessions said.
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Vivek Ramaswamy, president and co-founder of Strive Asset Management, Center, arrives to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, Thursday, December 5, 2024. (to Drago)
Sessions highlighted how the timeline for DOGE, which is expected to expire no later than July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, will help ensure agency efficiency.
“We’re going to gut the fish,” Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, told reporters as he walked out of the meeting.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, however, was skeptical that he would rely on the new department to cut costs.
Going “Oh Dog, Save Us” is a bit rich. What, by us?” Roy told reporters. “I told him that his best role is to expose the absolute stupidity that comes out of this body.”
President-elect Donald Trump tapped Elon Musk to co-chair DOGE next year. (Brandon Bell)
But Rep.-elect Mike Haridolopos, R-Fla., argued it’s good to have an outside eye on how the federal government is run.
“The low-hanging fruit, the one overall thing we need to do is finally pass a balanced budget amendment,” he said, where Congress can help cut waste. “I think the second is that people have to show up to work. Everybody else in America doesn’t show up to work, they don’t get paid. So these government employees have to show up to work.”
Ahead of the meeting with Congress, Musk was asked if he would Democratic members To be a part of the DOGE conversation, he asked them to answer “yes”.
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Musk sat down Thursday morning with incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, while Ramaswamy met with the Senate Doge Caucus, chaired by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa., unveiled. 60 page proposal For potential cost reductions.
