Members of the Senate DOGE Caucus, returning from a White House meeting with Elon Musk Thursday afternoon, privately pushed for the billionaire to coordinate more with Congress on his cuts to the federal government.
The meeting began with a discussion about retaining important federal employees in the wake of massive firings across federal government, according to Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas). And Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) told Musk that it was important for senators to have points of contact within DOGE to address concerns from constituents.
“We want to make sure that we keep all the federal employees that are competent and care about America,” Marshall said. “We’re breaking a few things, but at the end of the day, we’ll keep the right people in place.”
Broadly, Republicans have been supportive of Musk’s effort to cut down on federal government spending, though some have expressed anxiety about the pace. There have also been calls for Musk’s cuts to be retroactively approved by Congress. But others have indicated that since President Donald Trump has said Musk is acting in a more advisory role, they’re comfortable with the cuts coming from the president.
“They can make observations and recommendations,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), another attendee, told reporters after the meeting, referring to Musk and DOGE. “They don’t have independent authority to fire, to cancel any payment, or anything like that. They just note things and say: ‘Take a look at this.’”
