Republican lawmakers are racing to embrace Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s push to cut up the federal authorities — even when their precise authority remains to be murky and the trouble poses a possible menace to congressional energy.
Whereas President-elect Donald Trump’s so-called Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE) gained’t formally get began till January, the group behind the workplace has already been assembly with GOP lawmakers, in accordance with two individuals granted anonymity to debate non-public deliberations. Concepts that Musk and Ramaswamy are floating embody chopping rules, lowering the scale of the federal workforce and mounting a authorized bid to bypass Congress on spending cuts.
What has emerged from the early DOGE-Capitol Hill discussions is a rising variety of Republicans desperate to work with the workplace, together with not solely MAGA favorites like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, but in addition incoming Homeland Safety and Governmental Affairs chair Rand Paul of Kentucky and Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa. Ernst, a one-time Trump critic who has lately huddled at Mar-a-Lago, is spearheading a devoted DOGE caucus.
A lot of these Republicans have beforehand pushed to chop spending, making DOGE a possibility to bear hug one in all Trump’s first massive initiatives and likewise advance their very own long-held targets.
One group of outliers look like appropriations committee leaders, the senior lawmakers who management Congress’ energy of the purse and would nominally be essential to executing any DOGE suggestions. They face a possible problem to their energy, with Musk and Ramaswamy floating the potential for circumventing Congress of their bid to slash the federal forms. Additional complicating issues is the truth that DOGE, although created by Trump, will not be a proper a part of the federal government and is poised to behave in a pure advisory trend.
What follows is a run-down of how Republican Home members and senators are jockeying for affect within the DOGE period.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.)
Lower than 4 years in the past, 11 Republicans joined with Democrats to take away Greene from congressional committees over a sequence of incendiary feedback and actions. This January, she’ll be main the brand new Home Oversight subcommittee on Delivering on Authorities Effectivity, which is being tasked with serving to Musk and Ramaswamy at DOGE.
It should give one in all Trump’s loudest allies on Capitol Hill an official perch the place she will be able to coordinate with the administration, drive her personal coverage concepts and strain recalcitrant GOP colleagues. Greene mentioned in a press release that her subcommittee will “work hand in hand with President Trump, Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, and the whole DOGE group.” Home Oversight Chair James Comer of Kentucky mentioned in an interview that Greene could be a “good match” with Musk and Ramaswamy given her earlier expertise as a small enterprise proprietor.
Greene’s ascendance comes as Speaker Mike Johnson pushes for her to be a extra energetic participant within the GOP convention, which might work to his profit as he tries to shore up assist for retaining his gavel in January.
Greene’s subcommittee is predicted to focus on “wasteful spending,” provide you with concepts for reorganizing federal companies and determine methods to “remove bureaucratic crimson tape,” mentioned an individual granted anonymity to debate the panel’s plans.
Greene is lobbing a extra direct warning, saying the subcommittee would assist “expose individuals who must be FIRED.”
Comer mentioned the Oversight Committee’s jurisdiction of the federal workforce could be an enormous space of overlap with Trump’s DOGE group. Musk and Ramaswamy indicated in a Wall Avenue Journal op-ed this month that they’d attempt to get round protections that make it more durable to fireside federal workers. They’re additionally contemplating pushing for a five-day return to workplace as a strategy to skinny the federal workforce.
Comer and Greene have already met with Trump’s incoming DOGE group, together with Ramaswamy, in accordance with an individual briefed on the dialogue, who added that the Trump officers are “supportive of the Oversight Committee’s endeavor and are already working collectively.”
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa)
Ernst is making an early bid to place herself as a lead Senate DOGE ally, the place giant swaths of Trump’s agenda nonetheless face pockets of GOP opposition and a Democratic filibuster.
Ernst is main a brand new DOGE caucus and outlining trillions in potential spending cuts or financial savings, arguing that DOGE’s mission is consistent with her long-running “Squeal Awards” that focus on authorities waste. The Home has its own DOGE caucus, spearheaded by Reps. Aaron Bean (R-Fla.) and Pete Sessions (R-Texas).
Ernst’s transfer to align herself carefully with DOGE, and by extension Trump and his allies, comes after she misplaced the race for Senate GOP convention chair earlier this month to Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).
Ernst met with Ramaswamy late final week at Mar-a-Lago, the place she pitched him on methods to curb federal spending. Ramaswamy publicly thanked Ernst and mentioned that DOGE officers “stay up for partnering with the Senate to downsize authorities.” Ernst then posted a photograph on social media from over the weekend with Trump and Musk, saying she met with the incoming president to debate his Cupboard.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)
Within the Senate, the Homeland Safety and Governmental Affairs Committee may have the most important space of overlap with DOGE. Paul, a libertarian-leaning, small authorities Republican, can be its chair.
Paul has lengthy been a gadfly for management and sometimes pushes efforts to chop spending, which have routinely gotten votes on the Senate ground however been rejected by even a few of his GOP colleagues.
Paul throughout a latest Fox Information interview, mentioned that he was “all in” on serving to DOGE, including that “we’ve already forwarded them 2,000 pages of waste that may be minimize.” He’s additionally pledged to provide recommendation to Trump’s DOGE group about utilizing recissions to clawback already authorised authorities funding, which might require congressional signoff.
Cagey appropriators
Republican lawmakers who’re chargeable for crafting and spearheading funding laws aren’t completely shutting the door on DOGE because it encroaches on their turf.
Musk and Ramaswamy are floating the potential for circumventing Congress on steep cuts by mounting a authorized problem towards the Impoundment Management Act, which locations limits on a president’s means to unilaterally withhold funding. They consider the Supreme Court docket, which has three justices nominated by Trump, could be favorable to them.
Key appropriators aren’t embracing that plan, however aren’t but combating again. As a substitute, in interviews with POLITICO, Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and different members of the panel mentioned they’re ready to see the main points of what Trump is proposing and the way reasonable the plans from his allies are.
“I’m not involved in any respect,” mentioned Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), a member of the Appropriations Committee. “I discovered a very long time in the past, keep calm, we’ll take care of all these points as they arrive. Look, what are we even speaking about? Is that this one thing actual?”
Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.
