Republicans love Elon Musk’s plans to slash government spending. But they’re not quite as thrilled at how a set of unelected bureaucrats is carrying it out — or how those new staffers are defying Senate-confirmed cabinet secretaries in the process.
When Secretary of State Marco Rubio approved foreign aid programs he deemed critical to American interests, two Department of Government Efficiency employees canceled the spending instead. The Washington Post reported that those DOGE employees have access to the payment system and manually blocked the funding, including money for Ukraine and HIV treatment programs — prompting pushback from Republicans on Capitol Hill.
“I have problems with that. I have problems that they have access to that,” Rep. Tim Burchett, a Tennessee Republican, told NOTUS on Wednesday on his way into a DOGE-affiliated subcommittee hearing.