Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy had few good solutions Thursday for the way the brand new “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) will meet its lofty objectives of slashing $2 trillion in spending throughout a buzzy assembly with GOP lawmakers.
In a session that included each Home and Senate Republicans, the 2 businessmen appointed by President-elect Trump to guide DOGE heard loads of solutions on how you can minimize spending and authorities waste — together with some concepts which have circulated amongst conservatives for years.
Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) described the assembly as a “listening session.”
“Probably half of them in there are really excited, and the other half know reality,” Miller mentioned of these attending the assembly. His remarks alluded to doubts amongst Capitol Hill Republicans about DOGE’s skill to chop spending and radically reshape authorities.
Some members left the assembly extremely skeptical that Musk and Ramaswamy will have the ability to get something like $2 trillion in spending cuts by way of Congress.
“These guys are going to get their eyes open,” mentioned one Republican lawmaker, granted anonymity to talk candidly, pointing to the razor-thin majority within the Home and the issue of the filibuster within the Senate.
Republicans may have a 219-215 majority at first of the brand new Home session due to Rep. Matt Gaetz’s (R-Fla.) determination to go away Congress after profitable reelection. That majority will then go right down to 217-215 when two different Republicans go away for Trump administration posts.
“They’re gonna offer a lot of solutions that are gonna roll off the tongue real easy, but look at the margins. They’re just not gonna have the horsepower,” the member mentioned of Musk and Ramaswamy.
A second GOP member mentioned that towards the tip of the assembly, Musk and Ramaswamy obtained a query about how possible it’s to chop $2 trillion in annual spending, given how onerous it was to achieve a deal to chop $1.5 trillion over 10 years within the 2023 Fiscal Accountability Act that additionally raised the debt restrict — and all with out touching entitlement spending.
There was not a transparent reply from Musk and Ramaswamy on that, the member mentioned, however the takeaway was that there was low-hanging fruit — comparable to instituting a federal hiring freeze at some businesses.
When requested whether or not DOGE’s objectives will consequence within the firing of a whole bunch of staff, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) instructed reporters “It’s not clear right now,” including, “It’s about making sure that the government’s doing its job efficiently.”
Total, members mentioned the assembly was a mixture of Musk and Ramaswamy giving concepts and listening to members present their very own solutions. No less than one member left the assembly early as a result of the road to ask a query was too lengthy.
Whereas many Republicans count on that the Trump administration’s DOGE fee will have the ability to have an effect by way of govt motion, there isn’t any consensus on the function Congress will play in making an attempt to slash spending, scale back waste and make lasting change.
Home Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), although, mentioned that “they’re going to work with Congress to make sure that it’s put in the law.”
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) cautioned that the Thursday conferences wouldn’t instantly result in particular plans.
“There won’t be a lot of detail for the press today, and that’s by design, because this is a brainstorming session,” Johnson instructed reporters.
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), chair of the Home Appropriations Committee, emphasised Musk and Ramaswamy’s feedback have been “fairly general.”
“It’s just ‘getting to know you’ and trying to understand the full scope of what they’re going to propose, how much would be done by executive action,” Cole instructed The Hill. “It’s a very preliminary discussion.”
Ending authorities telework got here up repeatedly on the huge assembly. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), chair of the Senate DOGE Caucus, got here out with a report on reform for the federal workforce on Thursday that highlighted criticisms of distant work.
“Across the country, people have gone back to work, yet you’ve got thousands — tens of thousands of federal workers being paid over $100,000 a year each and they’re not showing up for work,” Home Majority Chief Steve Scalise (R-La.) mentioned following the assembly. “And who loses from that are the American people.”
A number of members indicated that the DOGE leaders are particularly concerned about reforming funding for the Division of Training.
Rep. Aaron Bean (R-Fla.), a co-chair of the Home DOGE Caucus, mentioned Ramaswamy instructed members the Structure doesn’t give the federal authorities the “authority to do education,” and opened debate on the subject.
The tech entrepreneur has repeatedly advocated for the elimination of the Training Division, echoing the same pledge made by Trump on the marketing campaign path.
Bean, who additionally serves on the Training Committee, prompt giving states extra management over the difficulty, and Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) mentioned there “was a lot of support” for that proposal.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who is about to guide a Delivering on Authorities Effectivity subcommittee subsequent yr, prompt to reporters that there’s not an urge for food for touching obligatory spending and entitlements.
“The first thing that was talked about was protecting the American people’s hard-earned money and Social Security,” Greene mentioned.
The primary GOP member, although, expressed frustration at entitlements and obligatory spending being off-limits for DOGE, because it takes up the majority of federal spending.
“We are trying to trick ourselves into thinking that we’re not going to have to get into entitlements. But I got news for you: If that’s the answer, then it will be deficit spending for as far as you can see,” the GOP member mentioned.
