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Some Republican lawmakers are concerned about how Elon Musk is gutting the federal government, with senators worrying about the optics of having the world’s wealthiest man slash jobs that employ people in their home states.
Attacks on Musk from Democrats are also increasing as he takes an axe to agency after agency, creating chaos and uncertainty. One Republican senator said that Musk’s attempt to get federal workers to resign in exchange for seven months of severance was “poorly executed,” according to The Hill.
“I think they’re just looking to reduce numbers — it’s not efficiency, it’s not output. It’s, ‘We just need bodies gone.’ And I don’t know that’s the metric that you use,” the senator added.
The Republican senator grew irate at Musk calling for a “wave of judicial impeachments” in response to federal judges putting holds on some of the executive orders and other measures taken by President Donald Trump.
“Wrong, wrong, wrong. Get him out of the White House. Get him out; the sooner, the better,” the senator told the outlet. “Every day that he’s there, he seems more destructive.”
A poll by the Economist and YouGov taken between February 9 and 11 found that independents disapproved of Musk’s actions as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Thirty-one percent approved of Musk’s actions, while 49 percent disapproved. Meanwhile, among moderates, 33 percent approved, and 54 percent disapproved.
Another Republican senator told The Hill that Musk’s buyout offer and his slashing of the federal workforce is causing chaos, adding that federal workers are calling Washington as they try to understand what the billionaire’s actions mean for them.
“There’s a lot of concern among my constituents. The concern is, ‘Who is this guy?’ He’s a billionaire, which puts him in a certain category. ‘How does he have the authority if he’s not elected by anybody to do what he’s doing?’” the senator told the outlet.
The senator noted that the buyout offer — which about 75,000 workers accepted — has only created “confusion.” A judge put a hold on the resignation offer earlier this month, then lifted that pause, at which point the Trump administration closed the program.
“There’s no doubt that the president appears to have empowered Elon Musk to go far beyond what I think is appropriate,” Republican Maine Senator Susan Collins said earlier this month.
Legal experts, Democrats, and state attorneys general have alleged that Musk’s cuts run afoul of the law and undercut congressional and judicial powers.
Trump’s litany of executive orders increasing his powers and Musk’s cuts have led to mayhem across the federal government and raised concerns about possible threats to democracy.
Both Musk and Trump have attacked judges for ruling against the administration’s actions, with at least one judge facing threats of impeachment.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, told The Guardian that: “In the U.S., we appeal rulings we disagree with – we don’t ignore court orders or threaten judges with impeachment just because we don’t like the decision. This is a coup, plain and simple.”
Democratic Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse told the outlet, “I think their claims that they’re going after waste, fraud, and abuse is a complete smokescreen for their real intentions.”
He said Trump’s removal of 17 agency inspectors general was like “firing cops before you rob the bank.”
“It’s pretty clear that what’s going on here is a very deliberate effort to create as much wreckage in the government as they can manage with a view to helping out the big Trump donors and special interests who find government obnoxious in various ways,” he added.
Amid reports that there was tension between Musk and the Trump White House, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday that “This is a unified team,” according to Reuters. “Elon Musk is serving at the pleasure of the president, just like everybody else on this team. He takes directives directly from the president of the United States.”
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
