He’s placing the D in DOGE.
A California Democrat trolled firebrand GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene throughout her DOGE subcommittee listening to Wednesday by bringing a “d–okay pic” — and unveiling an enormous photograph of Elon Musk.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) took the swipe at Greene (R-Ga.) after she confirmed off X-rated photos of former first son Hunter Biden in compromising positions with a number of girls in a Home Oversight Committee listening to in July of 2023.
“Within the final Congress, Chairwoman Greene actually confirmed a d–okay pic in an Oversight Congressional listening to. So I believed I’d deliver one as properly,” Garcia stated.
“Now this, after all, we all know, is President Elon Musk,” he added, holding up a photograph of the Tesla CEO who heads President Trump’s Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE).
“He’s additionally the world’s richest man. He was the most important political donor within the final election. He has billions of {dollars} in conflicts of curiosity. And we all know that he’s main an influence seize additionally abided by and inspired by Donald Trump.”
In the course of the 2023 listening to, Greene whipped out the express images of the little Biden’s, properly, little Biden to lift issues that the 53-year-old former first son flouted the Mann Act, which bars transportation of girls throughout state strains “for the aim of prostitution or debauchery, or for every other immoral function.”
The smutty pics of Biden had been censored and she or he warned viewers that “parental discretion is suggested” — however Democrats had been nonetheless outraged by the transfer.
The Wednesday session was the DOGE subcommittee’s first main listening to and it was supposed to be the opening salvo in Greene’s quest to craft legislative options to authorities inefficiencies.
The subcommittee, which is beneath the umbrella of the Home Oversight Committee, enhances Musk’s DOGE and the DOGE caucuses in each chambers of Congress.
“The American individuals are in debt slavery to everybody who owns our debt…it can destroy all of us,” Greene declared throughout her opening remarks.
“Let’s be brutally trustworthy about how this huge debt got here to be within the first place,” she continued.
“It got here from Congress, and from elected presidential administrations. And I imagine enslaving our nation in debt is among the greatest betrayals in opposition to the American individuals by its personal elected authorities.”
The listening to then rapidly devolved right into a partisan bickering match as Democrats harped on Musk’s outsized position in limiting the federal authorities and accused President Trump of breaking the legislation.
“Folks stated they had been upset about TikTok however I’m upset in regards to the man who runs Twitter, who for certain is doing nefarious issues!,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas.) shouted.
“It’s time for us to do our jobs and rein on this rogue actor often known as Elon Musk.”
Oversight Committee Chairman Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) blasted Trump’s and Musk’s method to authorities bloat as a “wrecking ball” and known as for extra deliberate reforms to curb improper funds and higher implement the tax code.
“A wrecking ball is just not going to do it. And we’re not going to assist that method to waste, fraud and abuse within the federal authorities,” he stated.
Republicans took turns firing again at Democrats whereas peppering them with questions on authorities waste.
“We’re uncovering what may very well be the most important cash laundering scandal in American historical past,” Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) hit again at one level. “And the opposite aspect of the aisle might care much less. … all they wish to speak about [is] Elon Musk incessantly.
“I’d wish to ask if Democrats actually care about in contrast to the bureaucrats making selections over our lives, the place had been they every time their God Anthony Fauci was forcing vaccine and masks mandates on the American individuals?”
Democrats had introduced in Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, director of Authorities Affairs on the Venture on Authorities Oversight, as their predominant witness to counter the three specialists Republicans had on the listening to.
Hedtler-Gaudette wore sun shades throughout the listening to as he suffers from type-2 Usher syndrome which has made him blind.
In the course of the listening to, he was vital of the Trump administration’s efforts to slash the workforce and argued that there’s a lot of nuance to improper funds made by the federal government.
“Generally improper funds are a operate of unhealthy document conserving generally they’re a operate of outdated know-how programs,” he argued.
“Generally they arrive about by human error and generally they arrive about by negligence,” he continued.
“It simply merely is just not the case that improper funds are solely a operate of unhealthy individuals doing unhealthy issues with unhealthy intent.”
At one level, he cautioned that Trump’s determination to fireside over a dozen inspectors normal might hurt efforts to root out authorities bloat.
“It utterly undermines our skill to root out waste, fraud and abuse,” Whitson stated.
However amid all of the combating and grandstanding throughout the heated two-hour listening to, a number of witnesses managed to get in a couple of key ideas for lawmakers to guage.
Stewart Whitson, the senior director of Federal Affairs on the Basis for Authorities Accountability, confused that Trump and Musk have “solely scratched the floor.”
“If this a lot fraud has been uncovered in a couple of weeks, think about what else is buried beneath layers of crimson tape and authorities excuses,” Whitson, a former FBI agent, stated.
“Congress can assist the president in finishing up his DOGE effort by making all govt department workers at will, codifying the president’s authority to fireside unproductive or insubordinate company workers as wanted,” he added.
Haywood Talcove, the CEO of Lexis Nexis Danger Resolution, defined that almost all of presidency businesses are utilizing outdated know-how however are additionally hobbled by a cumbersome algorithm.
“They’re utilizing very dated know-how,” Talcove stated.
“One of many issues I feel has to occur is the simplification of those processes and programs, after which simply use the know-how that we use day by day within the personal sector.”
Talcove additionally contended that the 1974 Privateness Act wanted changes to make sure that the feds might higher crack down on fraudulent funds.
In the meantime, Daybreak Royal, the director of the Council on Welfare Fraud, urged lawmakers to deal with fraud inside social advantages packages.
“Ensuring weak residents have entry to those welfare packages mustn’t imply that we merely flip a blind eye to integrity,” she warned.
“If we don’t pursue the prevention, detection and prosecution of fraud, taxpayers turn out to be the victims.”
On the finish of the listening to, Greene teased plans to develop a report on legislative options to authorities waste that she intends to launch over the approaching months.
Republican leaders have additionally been on the lookout for methods to codify a few of Musk’s and Trump’s actions into legislation as DOGE faces authorized obstacles within the courts.
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