Elon Musk’s Slash-and-Burn Tactics Are Beginning to Unnerve Republicans

“Did not look very well coordinated,” said Sen. James Lankford.

AP 25052755171785 Elon Musk

The email has led to a whirlwind of confusion for government employees. Jose Luis Magana/AP

Republicans in Congress have repeatedly said they’re broadly fans of Elon Musk’s efforts to cut government waste. But the tech billionaire’s latest move to drastically slash the federal workforce in the name of reducing government spending is wearing thin on lawmakers.

“Did not look very well coordinated,” GOP Sen. James Lankford said. “Several agencies immediately stepped out and said, ‘Hey, not not us, not our people.’ And so we’re trying to figure out, where was that, where did that come from and why did that go out that way?”

Sen. Thom Tillis said “the managers of these agencies need to start asking those questions.” But he stressed that he was fine with having non-agency heads press those issues “before you get people confirmed.”