Add a growing number of Republicans to the list of lawmakers who are becoming both alarmed and furious over the slash-and-burn, error-ridden tactics of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
According to a report from Axios, there are signs of a coming revolt against the Donald Trump-approved dismantling of the government via mass firings that are starting to have a real-world impact in lawmaker's districts.
Those complaints, along with the notion that control of the government's purse strings is being taken away from Congress, has some GOP lawmakers admitting that the "constitutional crisis" Democrats have been warning about could be in the offing.
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As Andrew Solender and Stef W. Kight wrote for Axios, "The job and funding cuts are now hitting GOP lawmakers' districts and states," adding, "DOGE's spree of job cuts is starting to target federal roles that even some of Trump's Republican allies in Congress may deem too essential to sacrifice."
According to one House Republican who didn't want their name used, "I think you're going to see a clash when they ... start abolishing [agencies]. Say like USAID, right? We authorized that. That's a creature of Congress."
"If they try to do something like that, then you're going to get into a constitutional argument or crisis," they added.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) agreed, while noting that some federal workers who were fired had to be hastily recalled because the DOGE employees didn't do their homework.
"Before making cuts rashly, the Administration should be studying and staffing to see what the consequences are. Measure twice before cutting. They have had to backtrack multiple times," he complained.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) was a bit more pointed in her criticism of the cuts that her state has suffered and how the firings have been conducted.
"We all want efficiencies, there is a way to do it, and the way these people have been treated has been awful in many cases. Awful," she lamented.
In a recent interview, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), despite his seniority in the GOP, admitted he is powerless by explaining, "This is an executive branch decision. Congress can't do anything except complain about it"
The Axios report notes, "Republicans have largely applauded the swiftness of DOGE's hacking and slashing, but some are quietly fuming that their Constitutional role in controlling federal funds could be steamrolled in the process," which led one lawmaker to suggest, "Even though it's our guy in the White House, if there's a lot of executive overreach, we want to protect the institution of Congress."
