A Meeting of Minds

On Wednesday evening, tech entrepreneur and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk, gathered with a select group of House Republicans to explore potential avenues for cost savings within the U.S. government. The main aim of this meeting was to identify up to trillion in government waste—a goal Musk and his team believe is achievable, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

One lawmaker recounted, “The executive DOGE team is confident, they think they can get trillion. Now, we’ll see, right? The thing is, he acknowledged that we’re going to make mistakes, but we’re going to correct them very quickly.”

Assessing Government Efficiency

The meeting was notably led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and included members of the House DOGE subcommittee. Sources indicated that Musk spent about 45 minutes with the committee before addressing the wider House GOP Conference.

Concerns were raised regarding whether other government offices, such as the Treasury Department, possess the capacity to implement Musk’s proposals effectively. Musk responded, “We’re gonna help them,” suggesting a collaborative approach to address these issues.

Focus on Audit and Accountability

During the discussions, Musk pointed towards specific areas where government efficiency could be enhanced, such as conducting audits on federal benefits. He emphasized the necessity of cross-referencing databases to identify discrepancies, particularly concerning deceased individuals who still receive taxpayer-funded benefits like unemployment or Social Security.

Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas), a member of the subcommittee, further elaborated, “A lot of this is cross-referencing databases, making sure they’re talking to each other.”

Exploring Congressional Rescissions

Additionally, the topic of a congressional rescissions package was raised, which would allow Congress to cancel planned spending as a means to curtail excess government expenditures. Rescissions authority legitimately grants this power to Congress, needing only 51 votes in the Senate for approval, thus empowering Republicans to act without Democratic backing.

Greene confirmed the meeting’s significance, stating, “We had a very lengthy meeting, just my DOGE committee with Elon Musk and his team, and learned a lot of valuable information. The collaboration is going to be fantastic, and it needs to happen.”

Musk’s Vision for Change

After the smaller subcommittee meeting, Musk transitioned into a larger discussion with the House Republicans, lasting roughly 15 minutes, followed by a question-and-answer session. Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) described the interaction as an opportunity to gain insight into Musk’s endeavors and to strategize on coordinating their efforts more effectively.

Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R-Fla.) highlighted the lack of accountability in the current government framework, stating that “there were systematically no checks in order to make sure the taxpayer dollars were spent correctly.” Musk primarily outlined the findings from his investigations into government inefficiencies.

Mind-Blowing Findings

Reactions from lawmakers in attendance reflected astonishment over the volume of waste identified. Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) expressed both humor and frustration, remarking, “The level of waste and what they are finding is mindblowing.”

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) noted that Musk was at the beginning of his investigative work, stating, “He’s just getting started. He said, ‘I’m investigating and finding things that you really can’t argue with.’” Musk reiterated his commitment to uncovering where taxpayer money is being allocated and acknowledged the potential for errors along the way.

Addressing Concerns of Constituents

The discussions come at a time when some House Republicans are facing backlash in their home districts related to Musk and the DOGE initiative. Lawmakers have expressed frustration at being left in the dark about Musk’s activities. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) articulated these concerns to Musk during the closed-door meeting, receiving a receptive response.

Van Orden said, “I spoke to Elon specifically about this. There are our veterans and our farmers. So there’s a lot of angst going right now because people don’t understand what’s going on. And Mr. Musk was explicitly clear that we will make sure that we have no degradation of the benefits for our veterans that they have earned.”

Conclusion: A Call for Cooperation

The back-to-back meetings with House Republicans followed Musk’s earlier engagement with Senate Republicans in a similar closed-door setting. These interactions signify a proactive effort by Musk to forge meaningful partnerships with lawmakers in his quest to identify and eliminate government waste. The discussions reflect a significant crossover between innovative thinking in the private sector and the operational inefficiencies traditionally seen in government, setting the stage for potential transformative changes.