Republicans on Capitol Hill are sounding alarm in private over how tech billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency task force will impact their own states as its purge continues to target more and more federal workers across dozens of government departments, Politico reported Tuesday.
Some lawmakers have already expressed misgivings, like Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) who is concerned about the impact on the numerous national parks in his district, and Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) who is fearful about the impact to farmers in his state now that food aid under the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has been suspended.
But the concerns keep rolling in.
"Some GOP lawmakers are privately expressing alarm as they pass around a letter the administration sent to fire USDA microbiologists working to stop the bird flu and other animal diseases," Politico reported.
"Several Republican senators have also voiced concerns about how NIH cuts could hurt universities back home."
Meanwhile, "Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, who earlier this month praised Musk for 'draining the swamp,' on Saturday criticized the potential firing of probationary FBI agents as counterproductive to law enforcement efforts in his state. And Sen. Lisa Murkowski warned that the administration’s civil-servant culling could hurt energy projects and wildfire management in Alaska."
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Another area that has been significantly impacted is the Federal Aviation Administration, which saw a mass layoff of probationary workers despite widespread media attention on a deadly American Eagle plane crash in Washington, D.C. These layoffs were followed by a dramatic upside-down crash of a Delta Connection CRJ-900 flying from Minneapolis to Toronto, the cause of which is still under investigation.
Concerns are not just being shared with reporters. A prior analysis revealed that many Republican lawmakers publicly praising Musk are being bombarded with anger from constituents about the DOGE chaos, and these same lawmakers are assuring constituents they too have concerns and will act as a check on the administration.