Musk and DOGE try to slash government by cutting out those who answer to voters
Elon Musk, center left, operating with a directive from President Donald Trump to slash government spending, walks with Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., right, as he arrives to meet with Republican senators at the Capitol on Wednesday. Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite
DENVER — For decades, conservatives in Congress have talked about the need to cut government deeply, but they have always pulled back from mandating specific reductions, fearful of voter backlash.
Now, President Donald Trump's administration is trying to make major cuts in government through the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, run by billionaire Elon Musk — an initiative led by an unelected businessman who's unlikely to ever run for office and was appointed by a termed-out president who no longer needs to face voters again.
The dynamic of cutting government while also cutting out those who answer to voters has alarmed even some fiscal conservatives who have long pushed for Congress to reduce spending through the means laid out in the Constitution: a system of checks and balances that includes lawmakers elected across the country working with the president.
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