House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Thursday he's in the process of arranging meetings between Elon Musk and chamber Republicans amid tensions surrounding the work of the Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk heads, Politico reported.
Johnson told reporters that Musk will "meet with either small groups of members, appropriators, or maybe all the House Republicans" over the next two weeks, according to the report.
Johnson's remarks come two days after a reported closed-door meeting of House Republicans, who expressed frustration over "getting fed to the wolves" over Musk's actions and tweets. Yet other Republicans are not happy with Musk's rhetoric toward the thousands of federal workers who have already been laid off due to DOGE's cost cutting and his sharing of a meme referring to people on federal aid as the "parasite class."
"DOGE's recent requests for federal employees should have been coordinated with the agencies before they were issued. I fully support those agencies working with DOGE to improve efficiency and eliminate tax dollar waste," Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., said in a written statement. "With that being said, referring to Americans who may need government assistance as 'parasites' is unacceptable in any circumstance."
Johnson said he met with Musk at the White House late Tuesday in the aftermath of Musk weighing in on the speaker's budget negotiations, to which Johnson said he had "no concerns," according to the report.
"He's anxious to share what he's finding, and a lot of things he's told me in our private meetings, I said we have to make sure all the members understand the degree of the fraud, waste, abuse, and how egregious it is," Johnson said Thursday.
Meetings between Musk and Senate Republicans are also being arranged by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., as well as the Senate DOGE Caucus, a group led by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, according to Politico.
"As we get more Senate-confirmed leadership in the departments, I think they have to take the reins," Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told Politico earlier this week regarding Musk's questionnaire to federal workers demanding they justify their employment.
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