Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) warned a House Homeland Security subcommittee that Elon Musk's DOGE was a "nightmare" for national security.
During a Tuesday hearing before the Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability Subcommittee, Thompson told Republicans that DOGE was redundant and dangerous.
"The Musk-Trump co-presidency and DOGE are unpopular," he explained. "Musk and DOGE are so unpopular that my Republican colleagues are here today pretending that Joe Biden is still president so that they can have someone to beat up on for their failures."
"But just in case my colleagues across the aisle don't get it, let me make it clear to you, Republicans are in charge here in the House," he continued. "Republicans are in charge over in the Senate. Republicans appointed justices who control the Supreme Court, and your Orange Jesus is in charge of the White House."
"Republicans on this committee want to have a hearing to air their grievances about the Biden-Harris administration because, under the Trump-Musk administration, planes have been crashing out of the sky, the price of eggs has skyrocketed, tens of thousands of Americans have lost their jobs, and Russia and China are celebrating."
Thompson argued that if Republicans "really want to combat waste, fraud, and abuse, they should be laser-focused on overseeing Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, which is a cheap knockoff of congressionally mandated watchdogs."
"Elon Musk's DOGE not only is redundant, but also is a direct threat to the homeland security," he warned. "That is waste. It is also a national security risk. Why? Because hungry nations won't go hungry for long. Our global adversary, China, will be right there to feed them, and China won't be there out of the goodness of their heart."
The ranking member also pointed to the firing of federal workers as a possible security hole.
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"Russian and Chinese spies are targeting recently fired federal workers with security clearances, and I can guarantee you that those foreign spies are targeting the young, inexperienced, those employees who have unfettered access to the federal systems and classification information," he said. "The Trump-Musk administration has created a national security nightmare, and my Republican colleagues are sleepwalking right into it."
"Make no mistake, Elon Musk's DOGE is a homegrown threat, and it's time for the other side to wake up."
