Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, pushed back against Democratic attacks on Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on Newsmax on Monday, arguing that elected officials — not bureaucrats — run the country.
During an appearance on "Rob Schmitt Tonight," Jordan criticized Democrats for targeting Elon Musk instead of addressing wasteful government spending.
"Go ahead and attack the guy who is exposing the stupid spending instead of addressing the stupid spending — that's the Democrats' mantra," Jordan said.
"And they use all kinds of big words like 'constitutional crisis,' which they've said about the president. I mean, I remember when they said eight years ago that the Trump-Russia collusion, which was a big hoax, was the biggest constitutional crisis ever. So, this is typical, typical left."
Jordan defended Musk, whom President Donald Trump appointed to lead the DOGE in streamlining federal spending and reducing unnecessary regulations.
"Elon Musk is every bit as much a federal employee as those 80,000 IRS agents," Jordan argued. "The guys who work for Elon Musk are every bit as much a federal employee as the career bureaucrats who are supposedly so much smarter than us regular people."
The Ohio Republican aimed at what he described as a fundamental issue with leftist ideology, saying, "They actually think the bureaucrats run the country. You and I think, and the American people believe — no, no, no. Under our constitutional system, it's the guy who puts his name on a ballot who actually gets to make the decisions."
U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer, appointed by former President Barack Obama to the Southern District of New York, granted a temporary restraining order on Saturday. This ruling supported 19 Democratic state attorneys general who argued that granting DOGE "full access" to the Treasury's payment systems breaches the law, according to Bloomberg.
Jordan criticized Engelmayer's decision to restrict DOGE access to government records, explicitly barring the Treasury secretary from reviewing certain documents.
"The idea that this judge said that even the Treasury secretary couldn't see this is crazy," Jordan said. "That's the guy who was confirmed by the Senate, nominated by the guy who got 77 million votes, and he can't even see it? It just shows you how crazy the left has become."
His comments come as Senate Democrats launched an online portal encouraging public employees to report concerns about the Trump administration's oversight of federal agencies, including DOGE.
According to The Washington Examiner, the form allows whistleblowers to flag alleged misconduct.
Musk, the world's wealthiest person, serves as an unpaid adviser to Trump and leads DOGE's efforts to eliminate excessive spending. Despite Democratic opposition, DOGE has continued to push for efficiency measures across federal agencies.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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