President Trump's close ally, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), defended the efforts of tech billionaire Elon Musk to rebuild government through the first government efficiency (DOGE).
In an interview with CNN's Manu Raju, Jordan said he was pleased with the bold steps Musk took, but that he believes Congress will ultimately be involved “at some point.”
Jordan asked Trump's team if they were comfortable saying “we are essentially trying to close these agencies without Congressional consent,” and Jordan said conservatives wanted to close the Ministry of Education “long.” He said he was saying that.
“We have real concern about all the waste, fraud and abuse that Elon Musk and his team identify,” he added. “It's funny. You know, no one wants to defend waste fraud or abuse, so they attack guys who are exposing all the waste fraud and stupid things we're spending .”
When Jordan said the constitution gives the president the power to enforce, Raju pointed out that Congress had “wallet power” constitutionally.
“We do, but it's the president, not the USAID bureaucrats. It's not the people or employees of the Department of Education staff. It's the president of the United States, and the people who work at Doge are the leaders of the administrative department. I am a federal employee who carries out the will,” Jordan replied.
Jordan is satisfied with Musk closures, including the US International Development Agency (USAID) and the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPB), and what Jordan voted when he elected Trump in November. He said he knew.
“The Congress will be involved at some point,” Jordan said. Later, “I think it's ultimately. But I think what Elon and his team are doing at the president's request, and that's what he campaigned for, and that's what people were saying. It was rated and voted on the 5th of the month, and how he won by far. I think it's totally fine.”
“I think the guardrails are in the press that talk about it every day,” Jordan said on whether he should take more steps to secure the guardrail for his masks.
