At least one Republican lawmaker appears to be willing to publicly express the discomfort that many of his colleagues are reportedly feeling about the massive cuts President Donald Trump and X owner Elon Musk are making to the federal workforce.
In an interview with the Columbus Dispatch, Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH) said that Trump's executive orders were getting "out of control" and he said that Congress ought to decide whether to abolish entire government agencies such as the Department of Education or the United States Agency for International Development.
"Congress has to decide whether or not the Department of Education goes away," Balderson said. "Not the president, not Elon Musk. Congress decides."
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Many Republicans have privately expressed anxiety about Trump and Musk's effort to take a blowtorch to the federal government, although most of them have yet to break publicly with the president or to criticize Musk, who has threatened to fund primary challenges against any dissenters.
Nonetheless, recent polls have shown that Trump's popularity is sinking and that many Americans are very wary of Musk's role given that he was neither elected by voters nor confirmed to a cabinet position by the United States Senate.