WASHINGTON — Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) doesn't think Elon Musk has any business messing with the employees at government agencies where secretaries have been confirmed.
Raw Story spoke to senators on Capitol Hill on Tuesday as protesters filled the offices of several lawmakers to protest massive cuts at government agencies.
The effort is part of President Donald Trump and Musk's attempt to find trillions in savings. Called the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk's job isn't an official government post, which prompted lawsuits alleging it is unconstitutional.
"Oh, I don't think — I don't mind a change agent on the front end, but once we get Senate-confirmed heads of these agencies, he should be going through them," Tillis said about Musk.
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"If I were a senate-confirmed nominee and I have somebody else asking me about my employees, I would not be happy," he continued.
He went on to say he was glad to see what new FBI Director Kash Patel told agents under him after Musk demanded all federal workers submit five things they did the previous week to justify their jobs. Patel told his employees to ignore the demand, though Trump then told the press that all employees should answer the questionnaire, and he thought it was a good idea.
Raw Story remarked that Republicans are receiving blowback from the cuts.
"It's okay to do this, but if you have sympathetic situations, you better have a remediation strategy quickly, or you look like you didn't do your homework," Tillis said.
Indeed, many political analysts and lawmakers believe the purge has been indiscriminate to meet a percentage goal.
Tillis told another reporter he's hearing from those at home because his state has many medical research institutions.
"We'll just have to work through it," said Tillis. "Right now, I'm just trying to figure out where the funding is going. There could be some people who convince me it's nice but not as important as others. I don't mind going through the discussion."
He explained, "There's some important stuff going on in North Carolina, and we've got some premier research institutions. So, we have to look at each money frame and see if it's rational."
He agreed the terminations "have gotta make sense."
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) said he's not concerned that he'll be punished for the cuts made by Trump's administration. He said it's like a business becoming leaner.
"It's part of ways here to make sure we can reduce the massive deficits and debt we have," he said.
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy (CT) has made the rounds on cable news to bash DOGE and the cuts.
"Ultimately, they're violating the law right now, as we speak, in multiple ways," he told reporters Tuesday. He told the courts to "weigh in" and tell the executive branch that they have to follow the law.
"Republicans are giving away their power every single day," he continued. "They've decided to cut down multiple Article I powers and it's a disaster for our democracy."