For the first time since their party’s loss in November, Democrats in Congress have found a rallying cry — not by targeting Donald Trump, but instead by going after Elon Musk, who is leading the president’s effort to rein in federal spending.
“We cannot be silent in the face of unelected billionaire Elon Musk’s attempt to take over our government,” U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, said as she joined dozens of Democrats in marching on the Treasury Department this week to rally against Musk.
Democrats are alarmed at how Musk’s insider effort quickly led to staff cuts at the U.S. Agency for International Development, with no input from Congress.
“My constituents, and a majority of this country, put Trump in the White House, not this unelected, weirdo billionaire,” said U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine.
Security aides barred Democratic lawmakers from entering several government buildings in recent days, as Democrats demanded answers about what Musk was up to.
“People voted for lower gas prices and cheaper eggs, not Elon Musk and his chaos,” added U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M.
Musk wasn’t apologizing for his work. He spent the week sending mean tweets to Democrats, even accusing some of criminal acts — while offering no evidence of wrongdoing.
While Democrats denounced Musk, Republicans welcomed him as a breath of fresh air and said they are not worried that Congress was giving up its “power of the purse.”
“The Executive Branch of government in our system has the right to evaluate how Executive Branch agencies are operating,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Republicans picked an easy first target in USAID, mainly because foreign aid isn’t very popular, and it wasn’t hard to generate “America First” outrage with handpicked examples of the agency’s work.
Things like spending $1.5 million for diversity training in Serbia or $70,000 for a diversity musical in Ireland were a hanging curveball for Republicans.
“USAID is one of the worst offenders of waste in Washington,” said U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.
In a sense, this is also a larger story about Congress giving up power. Instead of lawmakers approving individual line items, most agencies are given wide discretion in awarding grants.
That’s how you get $32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru.
While Democrats raised their voice against Musk, they certainly didn’t win this first skirmish over spending.
“This is no way to govern,” argued U.S. Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., who once worked at USAID, as supporters of the agency rallied outside the Capitol on Wednesday.
“Detusk Musk not USAID,” read one sign.
Democrats have Musk in their sights. Whether that’s a winning political argument is another question.
Jamie Dupree has covered national politics and Congress from Washington, D.C., since the Reagan administration. His column appears weekly in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. For more, check out his Capitol Hill newsletter at http://jamiedupree.substack.com
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