Musk, Ramaswamy Discuss DOGE on Capitol Hill

Facts

• SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy on Thursday met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to discuss plans for the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) they will be co-chairing in the upcoming administration of Pres.-elect Donald Trump.^[1]
• The pair mostly met with lawmakers in closed-door sessions, where they reportedly explained the goal of DOGE and attempted to woo leery lawmakers to help with the task at hand. ^[1]
• Republican lawmakers were particularly 'impressed' with the presentation, with Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) saying that he expects Musk and Ramaswamy to 'do a great job.' Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC) said the meetings showed that a lot of lawmakers 'are on the same page' with the objective of making 'government serve people again.'^[2]
• Musk reportedly told lawmakers he and Ramaswamy would be keeping a 'naughty and nice' list to track which legislators are cooperative with DOGE and which aren't. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called the meetings the start of a 'new day in Washington and a new day in America.'^[3][1]
• DOGE, which is effectively an outside advisory group with no official power, was created by Trump to cut regulations, spending, and headcounts in the federal government. Trump called it 'The Manhattan Project' of modern times when he announced it on social media.^[4][5]

Sources: ^[1]Roll Call, ^[2]FOX News, ^[3]Associated Press, ^[4]New York Times and ^[5]BBC News.

Narratives

• Republican narrative, as provided by Washingtontimes and Townhall. This is an exciting time to be a fiscal conservative or an advocate for small government because DOGE will bring a new era of efficiency for the US government. As explained in these meetings, DOGE has already identified numerous sources of waste that must be eliminated and there are many ways billions of dollars can be cut to make the government work better for its citizens.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by Guardian and MSNBC. In many ways, DOGE is already dead. Musk and Ramaswamy have no government or political experience, so they're probably unaware that much federal spending is mandatory, and other spending is politically sensitive. There are definitely ways — many already suggested by the government's accountability office — to cut waste, but the suggested massive cuts are no way to serve the people.