As far as congressional meetings go, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s huddle with Republicans was remarkably efficient.
The moguls whom President-elect Donald J. Trump has charged with producing a federal government marked by “more efficiency and less bureaucracy” — the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE — arrived on Capitol Hill on Thursday for a series of sitdowns with lawmakers that culminated in an afternoon session open to all congressional Republicans.
Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy each delivered roughly a minute of introductory remarks, as if to show off their talent for streamlining in a roomful of officials known for long-windedness. They disclosed little in the way of their plans for where to find spending cuts, according to those who attended the closed-door meeting, instead emphasizing how badly both the government and its $36 trillion debt had ballooned.
Then they turned the microphones over to lawmakers, who enthusiastically lined up to offer suggestions of government agencies and programs to slash.
Republicans who have long dreamed of the opportunity to downsize the federal government — and are eager to rub elbows with the richest man in the world, and a close Trump ally to boot — hailed the arrival of Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy on their home turf.
Taxpayers “deserve a more responsive government, a more efficient government, one that is leaner and more focused on its primary objectives,” Speaker Mike Johnson told throngs of assembled reporters before the closed-door meeting. “And that’s the opportunity that we have here now. We believe it’s an historic moment for the country, and these two gentlemen are going to help navigate through this exciting new day.”
Just how they plan to do that is not yet clear.
Lawmakers leaving the meeting on Thursday were bombarded with questions from reporters on the policy specifics of a DOGE blueprint, including on issues Mr. Musk has posted about on X, his social media platform. Were Republicans discussing slashing entitlement benefits, the main drivers of deficits? How might this initiative factor into the vast tax package the G.O.P. is expected to muscle through Congress, which could add trillions more to the debt?
Nobody could say.
“This is, like, the very first day,” Representative Tom Cole, Republican of Oklahoma and the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, told reporters.
“I think it’s just getting to know you, and trying to understand the full scope of what they’re going to propose, how much would be done by executive action,” said Mr. Cole, who leads the panel that controls federal spending legislation. “Very preliminary discussion,” he added.
Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, who is set to lead the Appropriations Committee next Congress and who met one-on-one with Mr. Musk for over an hour, told reporters that Mr. Musk also “did not make a presentation” in her meeting.
“We talked about how we could improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government to better serve the American people and to save taxpayer dollars,” Ms. Collins said. “We did not go through any list of cuts or anything like that. We didn’t get into that.”
Weaving through the Capitol for meetings, Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy also met with Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, who will be majority leader in the next Congress, and a group of Senate Republicans. Mr. Musk had in tow his small son, X Æ A-12, who was clad in a tiny matching suit and sat atop his father’s shoulders as he strode through the Capitol. Mr. Musk’s son, 4, appeared to sit patiently through all of the meetings — delighting lawmakers who posted snapshots online.
Despite the warm welcome, DOGE’s mission is in some ways at odds with that of Congress. The initiative, at least for now, is essentially functioning as an outside advisory group with no official power or mandate. Congress, on the other hand, has the constitutional power of the purse, and lawmakers, especially appropriators, have historically jealously guarded their control over the spending bills that fund government programs, many of which they have created themselves.
And getting legislation that cuts spending through the House has proved difficult even under Republican majorities. Last year, for instance, G.O.P. leaders scrapped a vote on the bill funding the Transportation Department after northeastern conservatives revolted because it would have cut Amtrak funding levels by more than 60 percent.
“I told these guys, the best thing they could do is highlight all of the nonsense that Congress continues to fund, and then that way Congress has to bear its burden as appropriators and spenders with the power of the purse,” said Representative Chip Roy of Texas.
“We’ll see what the president decides to do and how he’s structuring it, and who reports to whom,” he said of DOGE. “But they’re free Americans that can go out there and put stuff out there on Twitter, and expose and make clear, so that then we can take it and do something with it. They can put forward and propose plans.”
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who is in line to be chairwoman of an oversight subcommittee in the new Congress to collaborate with DOGE, told reporters that Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy suggested creating a public “naughty and nice list.” The list would score lawmakers’ votes on federal spending, akin to the scorecards that many political lobbying organizations already put out. (Some budget watchdog groups already do so.)
Eager to seize both a potential policy opportunity and bask in a rare celebrity-adjacent spotlight, lawmakers in both parties have already begun offering up bills slashing various government agencies and directly addressing Mr. Musk on his social media platform.
“I’m ready to work with @doge, @elonmusk + @VivekGRamaswamy to slash waste,” Representative Ro Khanna, Democrat of California, wrote. “Let’s look to the Truman Committee and ensure Americans get their money’s worth with DOD spending,” he added, referring to the Department of Defense.
Mr. Musk replied, “Much appreciated.”
Both before and after the meeting, throngs of lawmakers lined up to take photos with Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy. Most were later posted on X.
The post Elon and Vivek’s DOGE Goes to Congress appeared first on New York Times.
