In a recent wave of criticism, Democrats have targeted both DOGE and Elon Musk, with their attacks appearing both misguided and desperate.
Their objections range from the fact that "Elon Musk is unelected" to the fear that "he has access to data." However, these arguments seem to overlook the fact that many federal employees, who are also unelected, have access to data, yet the Democrats do not seem to take issue with them.
According to RedState, Democrats have no qualms with ordinary employees, but they take issue with Musk, who holds top security clearances and is working voluntarily under the direction of President Donald Trump. Trump's election campaign included a promise to have Musk on board.
The Democrats' objections have escalated to the point of labeling Musk's role as a "coup," "illegal," and a "constitutional crisis." However, it is unclear how a federal employee, acting under the direction of the elected president, could be considered a coup. It seems more likely that the Democrats are trying to protect the "unelected bureaucracy" and their questionable actions, which could be seen as the real coup attempt, as they strive to undermine the president's power.
Accusations have also been made that Musk is somehow stealing public funds. This would be an impressive feat, considering his team only has "read only" access to data. These arguments seem designed to incite fear, but the public isn't buying it. Indeed, it seems this tactic is only serving to further alienate the American people. If the Democrats are so keen to prevent DOGE from auditing the books, it begs the question: what are they trying to hide?
Despite the already questionable arguments made by the Democrats, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) has managed to make an even more absurd claim. He asked, "Why won't Elon show us the savings from DOGE? What's he hiding?" Swalwell's audacity is notable. He seems unbothered by the misuse of public funds by unaccountable bureaucrats, yet he attacks Musk, who is leading the team uncovering these misuses. According to Swalwell, it's Musk who is hiding something.
This claim is ludicrous. Musk has been nothing but transparent. He regularly posts updates about their findings on his X account. Furthermore, there is a website that lists the actual savings, line by line. They provide a "wall of receipts." Currently, the website reports $55 billion in savings from a "combination of fraud detection/deletion, contract/lease cancellations, contract/lease renegotiations, asset sales, grant cancellations, workforce reductions, programmatic changes, and regulatory savings."
Swalwell's inability to conduct even the most basic research raises questions about his competence as a member of Congress. If he can't perform such a simple task, how can anyone have confidence in his ability to do his job?
Musk himself addressed these attacks during a joint interview with Trump and Fox's Sean Hannity. He suggested that what we're really seeing with all these objections is the "thrashing [about]" of the bureaucracy as it is being taken down. He also pointed out the irony of complaints about his unelected status, noting the vast federal bureaucracy that opposes the President and the cabinet is also unelected.
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