People appreciate "waste, fraud and abuse," and we should go after it, but Elon Musk's messaging is "bad," says former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu.
"How he's messaging it, pulling up the chainsaw, being — showing not an empathetic ear. I mean, we have to cut a lot of jobs, but you don't do it without empathy and understanding that these are people's lives and all that," Sununu said Thursday during an appearance on CNN.
"I think that is where … that rubber meets the road, and people are saying, 'Wait, there has got to be a better way to do this, there has got to be a better approach to do it,' and allow those congressmen and women, at least on the right, to be able to defend what's happening, and explain it a little better to the American people."
Musk on Thursday during a Cabinet meeting convened by President Donald Trump said he anticipates DOGE's efforts to slash "waste and fraud" will cut $150 billion in spending over the next fiscal year, a sharp drop from his previous stated goal of $1 trillion.
Musk's group has slashed budgets and fired thousands of workers around Washington.