Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., erupted over Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) while delivering remarks to colleagues on the House Ways and Means Committee.
During a markup of bills related to providing the House with information on DOGE access to Treasury Department payment systems and the Social Security Administration, Larson turned red and shouted at Republican colleagues, “You will do whatever Elon Musk and Donald Trump tell you to do.
“Where’s the independence of the committee? Where’s the legislature? We’re an equal branch of government,” an enraged Larson yelled, “Look at the empty seats here. Where’s Elon Musk?
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“I’m sure he’s a genius and a very credible person because of the wealth he’s accumulated, but that does not put him above the law or the responsibility to come before this committee and this Congress,” Larson said. “If he’s great, and all the plans and all the fraud and abuse that he found are so eminent, why isn’t he here explaining it? You know why!
“Because he’s out to privatize Social Security. He’s been on television the last couple of days talking exactly about Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and what he intends to do — privatize it. The American people, some of them may have been born at night, but not last night.”
Democratic Rep. John Larson yells during a House Ways and Means Committee meeting about Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency. (Fox News )
The White House responded Thursday in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“The Democrats have no plan on how to recover from their embarrassing loss, and it shows,” White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields said. “Instead of working to become a party that focuses on the will of the people, they are hell-bent on keeping their heads in the sand and gaslighting on the widely supported mission of DOGE.
“Slashing waste, fraud and abuse and becoming better stewards of the American taxpayer’s hard-earned dollars might be a crime to Democrats, but it’s not a crime in a court of law.”
President Donald Trump listens as Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, a White House senior advisor, speaks next to a Tesla Cyber Truck and a Model S on the South Lawn of the White House March 11, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
The White House said earlier this week that President Donald Trump “will always protect Social Security, Medicare” after Musk sat down for an interview with FOX Business Monday to give a behind-the-scenes look at DOGE’s work.
Democrats took issue with Musk’s remarks on eliminating waste and fraud in entitlement programs, which he said account for most of federal spending.
“There’s a massive amount of fraud of, basically, people submitting Social Security numbers for Social Security benefits, unemployment, Small Business Administration loans and medical care,” Musk said. “We’re trying to put a stop to all of that.”
Musk also told Fox Business federal entitlement programs serve as “a mechanism by which the Democrats attract and retain illegal immigrants by essentially paying them to come here and then turning them into voters.”
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The White House said the U.S. Government Accountability Office estimates taxpayers lose as much as $521 billion annually to fraud, “and most of that is within entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid.”
Musk also said in a podcast interview with Joe Rogan last month that “Social Security is the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time,” another remark that drew the ire of Larson.
Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., arrives for a House Ways and Means Committee hearing Dec. 5, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
Larson claims the Trump administration wants to “slash and privatize” Americans’ benefits. He said during the committee markup that Musk and the White House are perpetuating a “big lie” that there is a Democratic plan “to bring illegal immigrants into the country by offering to pay them Social Security.” Larson claimed, “There’s not a thread of truth to any of that.
“And, yet, this unaccountable person — not a federal employee, not a volunteer — but a special person who’s not had to go through Senate approval and who this committee is now saying, ‘Yes, we agree with the president. He should not be accountable. He should be able to have free rein and do whatever he wants. We will willingly follow him and do whatever he says because he’s the wealthiest man in the world, and, surely, he must know how to save us from ourselves’,” Larson said.
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Larson said Social Security “just happens to be the No. 1 anti-poverty program for the elderly and for the children of this country,” adding that Musk and Trump “aren’t going to lose a moment’s sleep thinking about the privatization.”
The congressman and all committee Democrats introduced a resolution to compel the Trump administration to provide answers on DOGE’s intentions with Social Security, but Larson claimed Republicans are trying to stop it from coming to a vote.
