WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — The Delivering on Government Efficiency subcommittee, led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., held its first hearing Wednesday as Congress begins working with the White House on President Donald Trump’s plan to reshape the federal government.
The new House subcommittee, a partner to billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, could be a crucial legislative tool for Trump’s agenda. Greene, who met with Musk and Trump on Monday, said Wednesday’s hearing will launch “a war on waste.”
Though both parties underscored the potential for bipartisan work in eliminating government waste, Musk and Trump soon became the center of the hearing.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury, a Maryland Democrat and the subcommittee’s ranking member, made a direct plea to Musk to testify under oath before the lawmakers.
“We are well aware that you are eager to engage with members of Congress on social media, but we’re not here to play. If you have serious desire to engage in democracy and transparency, we welcome you to the Oversight Committee,” said Stansbury to Musk, who is leading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency — which also goes by DOGE — and was not in the room. “Please join us here in the People’s House.”
Stansbury also said it was wrong to let “Elon Musk and his hackers” gain access to sensitive databases like the U.S. Treasury payment system.
She added that Trump wasn’t interested in addressing waste and fraud because he was instead firing inspectors general.
“We have to ask ourselves, what is really going on here?” she said.
Stansbury’s remarks followed Greene’s opening statements, asserting that the legislative branch “will fight the war on waste shoulder to shoulder with President Trump, Elon Musk and the DOGE team.”
Greene also described excessive spending as an existential threat to the country at Wednesday’s hearing, saying, “The American people are in debt slavery to everyone who owns our debt.”
She said the federal government needs to be held accountable, saying there are “no consequences” for bad financial management or service to citizens.
“This week we turn our attention to improper payments by the federal government, including in Medicaid and Medicare. I’m looking forward to what we find out and how to solve this crisis,” she added.
The hearing featured testimony from a former FBI agent and the director of the United Council on Welfare Fraud. It comes as Democrats and some government workers are protesting massive cuts to the federal workforce and Musk’s influence in the White House.
Trump: DOGE has found ‘tremendous’ fraud
The hearing follows Trump’s claims that DOGE has uncovered tens of billions of dollars in fraud and abuse, blaming bad government contracts.
“We’re finding tremendous fraud and tremendous abuse. If I need a vote of Congress to find fraud and abuse, it’s fine by me. I think we’ll get the vote,” Trump said while speaking to reporters Tuesday alongside Musk in the Oval Office.
Musk added, “The people voted for major government reform, and that’s what the people are going to get. They’re going to get what they voted for.”
Trump’s executive order limits new hires
As the White House looks to buy out nearly 2 million federal government employees, Trump is limiting federal agencies to hiring one worker for every four who leave.
The deadline for federal employees to accept a buyout offer was extended indefinitely Monday as a lawsuit to block the plan continues in court.
The Office of Personnel Management has offered federal workers who resign pay and benefits through September. The White House has called the offer “generous” and reported that more than 65,000 workers, about 2.5% of the federal civilian workforce, have accepted the buyout.
The buyout is part of Trump’s aim to reduce the federal workforce and aligns with plans to cut staffing for U.S. aid projects worldwide as part of the administration’s efforts to dismantle USAID.
Democrats question legality of DOGE actions
Democrats have continued to question the legality of DOGE’s actions, including spending cuts and the downsizing of the federal workforce.
The moves have sparked protests in Washington, D.C., where thousands of American Federation of Government Workers union members and supporters rallied outside the Capitol, with some holding signs and chanting against Trump and Musk.