Diyar Guldogan
13 February 2025•Update: 13 February 2025
WASHINGTON
The US House of Representatives held the first hearing of its Oversight Subcommittee on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on Wednesday, with Democrats targeting tech billionaire Elon Musk.
The hearing, chaired by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, focused on fraud in government entitlement programs and efforts by Musk and DOGE to reduce government spending.
Greene, in her opening remarks, said the committee will fight "the war on waste shoulder to shoulder" with President Donald Trump, Musk and the DOGE team.
The hearing came after Trump signed an executive order giving DOGE the power to direct federal agencies in cost-reduction efforts.
The president praised Musk’s work, which has proved controversial with the public and legal scholars, who have called it unconstitutional. Trump also called on Musk to take on additional responsibilities.
During the hearing, Democrats accused Musk of breaking the law to eliminate spending and called on him to testify under oath before the panel.
"We are well aware that you are eager to engage with members of Congress on social media, but we’re not here to play. If you have a serious desire to engage in democracy and transparency, we welcome you to the Oversight Committee," said Rep. Melanie Stansbury.
Stansbury said Trump and Musk are "recklessly and illegally" dismantling the federal government, shuttering federal agencies, firing federal workers, withholding funds and hacking sensitive data systems.
Rep. Greg Casar asked the committee how much money a day Musk will receive from the federal government for his contracts.
"The answer is $8 million a day!" Casar added.
- 'Rein in this rogue actor known as Elon Musk'
Rep. Jasmine Crockett called on the committee to do its job and "rein in this rogue actor known as Elon Musk."
"If you are trying to conduct audits and figure out where the waste, fraud and abuse is, I don't know why you would go to some tech guy...He sat there in the Oval Office yesterday and he admitted that he was lying and he was using his propaganda machine to do it," she said.
Rep. Robert Garcia mocked Greene, who showed censored intimate photos of former President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden at a hearing in 2023.
"I find it ironic, of course, that our chairwoman, Congresswoman Greene, is in charge of running this committee. Now in the last Congress, Chairwoman Greene literally showed a d-ck pic in our oversight congressional hearing, so I thought I’d bring one as well," he said, before showing a photo of Musk.
"Now this, of course, we know, is President Elon Musk," he added.
In demonstrations, both the public and members of Congress have protested Musk's access to government databases and cutting of congressionally mandated funds to agencies.
