Musk, Ramaswamy to huddle with GOP lawmakers about DOGE effort to slash bureaucracy, debt

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will meet with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill next week to discuss how the Department of Government Efficiency they will lead in President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration can work with Congress.

House Speaker Mike Johnson shared a “save the date” addressed to Republican House and Senate members for the Dec. 5 discussion with Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy on X, the social media platform Mr. Musk owns.

The Louisiana Republican said he was looking forward to hosting them “to discuss major reform ideas to achieve regulatory rescissions, administrative reductions, and cost savings — & revive the principle of limited government!”

Mr. Ramaswamy posted on X that he has had great discussions with Mr. Johnson and other House and Senate leaders about DOGE’s goals.

“Congress appears serious about delivering structural reform,” he said. “We look forward to productive meetings in D.C. next week.”

Republican lawmakers have already shown enthusiasm for DOGE by launching congressional caucuses in its name and promising to partner with Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy in their efforts to cut wasteful government spending.

The House DOGE Caucus is led by GOP Reps. Aaron Bean of Florida and Pete Sessions of Texas. The Senate DOGE Caucus is led by Sen. Joni Ernst, Iowa Republican. 

The House Oversight and Accountability Committee will also add a new DOGE subcommittee next Congress to be chaired by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican.

Ms. Greene previewed her plans for the DOGE subcommittee on the “John Solomon Reports” podcast, saying she wants to “look hard” at funding for foreign wars, overseas military bases and defense contracts. 

Those targets could pit Ms. Greene against many of her Republican congressional colleagues who maintain a more globalist approach to foreign policy and support America’s backing of allies, particularly Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Mr. Trump has also said he wants to cut U.S. spending on foreign wars, promising to negotiate an end to the nearly three-year Russia-Ukraine conflict. He has also said he doesn’t want national defense programs to be targets of his government spending cuts. 

Ms. Greene, who has repeatedly voted against sending any U.S. money to Ukraine, said Mr. Trump won the presidential election in part on his promise to end foreign wars. 

She was fired up when asked on the podcast about a New York Times report that President Biden, before his term ends, could give nuclear weapons to Ukraine.

“I truly think that endangers not only our country, our safety, our national security, it endangers the entire world,” Ms. Greene said, suggesting such action could start a nuclear war with Russia.

“If the outgoing administration, the Biden administration, the unelected bureaucrats that are making these decisions, provide nuclear weapons to Ukraine, in my opinion, I think they’re committing treason, and they should be arrested,” she said.

Ms. Greene also wants to go after waste in the U.S. Postal Service, funding for National Public Radio and money going to sanctuary cities, among other potential targets. 

She said no options are off the table for cuts within the federal government “because the list is honestly so expansive.” 

“The best way to rein in the government spending is not just taking big chunks out of some departments, but it’s actually to go after even all the little things,” she said. “So the way I see it is the entire federal government is going to have to take a spending cut across the board. And we are going to have to eliminate, you know, a good number of programs.”

The DOGE subcommittee will hold hearings with federal department heads and other “unelected bureaucrats” about their government programs and grants, Ms. Greene said. 

“Why do you think the American people should continue spending on this?” she said she plans to ask witnesses. “And let them make their case.”