Elon Musk Consults with House Republicans on Government Waste Reduction

Elon Musk, the prominent entrepreneur and owner of X (formerly Twitter), engaged in discussions with a small group of House Republicans on Wednesday evening, focusing on strategies to identify and eliminate government waste. The goal is ambitious: uncover as much as $1 trillion in unnecessary government spending. Sources familiar with the meeting revealed the details to Fox News Digital.

According to one lawmaker present, the Musk team, internally referred to as the "DOGE" team, expressed confidence in their ability to reach the $1 trillion target. The lawmaker acknowledged the exploratory nature of the endeavor, stating, "Now, we’ll see, right?" and emphasized Musk’s commitment to quickly rectifying any errors made during the process.

The potential scale of the project raised concerns among some GOP members regarding the capacity of government agencies, particularly the Treasury Department, to handle the scope of the proposed changes. However, the lawmaker relayed that Musk offered assistance, stating, "We’re gonna help them."

Multiple sources indicated that Musk initially met with the House "DOGE" subcommittee, chaired by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, for approximately 45 minutes. This was followed by a broader meeting with the entire House GOP Conference.

Identifying Inefficiencies: Dead People and Database Disconnects

During the meetings, Musk highlighted areas where government efficiency could be improved. One specific example mentioned was a thorough audit of federal benefits programs, specifically examining instances where deceased individuals remained on the rolls, resulting in continued payments for Social Security, unemployment, or other programs.

Representative Michael Cloud of Texas, a member of the subcommittee, explained the problem as a lack of communication between databases. "A lot of this is cross-referencing databases, making sure they’re talking to each other," Cloud stated, highlighting the need for improved data integration to prevent improper payments.

Rescissions Package: A Tool for Spending Control

Two lawmakers present at the meeting also mentioned the idea of a congressional rescissions package as a potential mechanism for reclaiming excessive government spending. This proposal arises as Republicans and Democrats grapple over granting the President the authority to spend less than Congress initially allocates.

Rescissions authority empowers Congress to cancel planned government spending. Notably, it falls under the special cases where the Senate only requires 51 votes to pass a bill, instead of the usual 60. This means Senate Republicans could potentially pass a rescissions package without needing Democratic support.

Greenes Enthusiasm

Representative Greene confirmed the meeting with Musk but did not comment on the discussions surrounding congressional spending authority. She highlighted the potential collaboration, 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."

Steve Davis, an advisor to Musk, was present at both the subcommittee and the larger House Republican meetings.

Deeper Insights and Strategic Coordination

Following the smaller meeting, Musk addressed the House Republicans at large, speaking for around 15 minutes before opening the floor for questions.

Representative Brandon Gill of Texas, another member of the "DOGE" subcommittee, emphasized the value of the engagement. "What we were doing was getting a deeper insight into what Elon Musk is doing and kind of being able to strategize with him, how we can coordinate what we’re doing," he told reporters.

Representative Mike Haridopolos of Florida remarked on the lack of accountability in government spending. "Systematically, there were no checks in order to make sure the taxpayer dollars were spent correctly," Haridopolos said. He stated that Musk’s focus was on outlining the findings of his team’s rapid assessment and highlighting the absence of accountability within the government’s operating system. Musk avoided discussion of other ongoing fiscal disputes in Congress.

Representative Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania described his reaction as a mix of amusement and dismay. "It made me laugh and it made me sick all at the same time," Meuser commented. "The level of waste and what they are finding is mindblowing."

Representative Ralph Norman of South Carolina indicated that Musk’s investigation was ongoing. "He just says, ‘I’m investigating and finding things that you really can’t argue with.’ He said he’s making mistakes, he’ll correct them, but his mission is to uncover where our tax money is. Let the chips fall where they may," Norman said.

Addressing Concerns and Protecting Veterans Benefits

The meetings came amid reports of some House Republicans encountering challenging town halls or protests related to Musk and X in their districts. GOP lawmakers had previously expressed frustration with a lack of clarity regarding Musk’s activities.

Representative Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin conveyed similar concerns during the closed-door meeting, and reported that Musk was receptive to the issues. "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," Van Orden said. "And I expressed very clearly the concerns of our veterans community. 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."

Musk’s dual House meetings followed a similar closed-door engagement with Senate Republicans, indicating a widespread interest in his perspectives on government efficiency.