Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tenn., told Newsmax on Tuesday that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, led by Elon Musk, is being "applauded" by the American people after recent revelations about funds being diverted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to house illegal migrants.
"Absolute waste and I applaud Elon Musk and his team at DOGE for finding so many grievous errors and wasteful spending," Kustoff said on "National Report." "Whether it's USAID, FEMA, we're going to be hearing a whole lot more about other agencies and departments.
"The other day, President [Donald] Trump had a poll released that showed his approval rating was at 53%. It was really strong and people, they want strong Republican leadership. They want this mess in Washington cleaned up. They're tired of the spending. And so, what Elon Musk and the people of DOGE are doing and will continue to do is applauded by the American people."
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fired four employees for violating the law by sending $59 million last week to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal immigrants. The terminated employees include FEMA's Chief Financial Officer, two program analysts, and a grant specialist, according to a DHS statement to Newsmax.
Kustoff also offered some insight into the race on Capitol Hill to put a spending bill together to fund Trump's priorities during his second administration. While the president has expressed his preference for one bill, Senate Republicans have said they would prefer a two-bill approach. Kustoff said the House was following Trump's lead on the spending package.
"The plan is still like President Trump talked about: 'One big, beautiful bill,'" Kustoff said. "His border initiatives, his immigration initiatives, his energy initiatives, the extension or the permanency of the Trump tax cuts from 2017, which will expire at the end of the year if we don't do anything to make them permanent or to extend them out.
"So, the best course of action is to do this in one big bill rather than two bills and to get it done sooner rather than later. So, that's the message that we've been getting from Speaker Mike Johnson, including this morning, and from others in House leadership. We'll continue to push for that effort and I think we'll be successful."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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