the president and doge group are doing their jobs. they are identifying areas that need to be reduced or eliminated, but congress now has to act. just long-term, to put these policies in place and situations where permanently-speaking we change the trajectory of this spending in washington, d.c. that is where most of the debate is. how do we do that, still maintain the priorities that are important for us to maintain, yet cut the spending stuff so we can have a chance to have a balanced budget someday in the future. host: if you were advising elon musk where would you want doge to look next? guest: probably irs-related stuff. there is a lot of things there. there is also the medicaid area, where there needs to be some changes. we know that there is a lot of fraud going on in that area. we know there are excess dollars being spent that should not be. he is already going after the usaid stuff and the foreign policy and dollars leaving the country. now let's go after the fraud within the country. i think he's going to find a lot of stuff

sound the alarm and fight with everything we've got to stop this horrible, horrible act by this doge groupings of course the permission, acquiescence and encouragement of donald trump. leader jeffries? rep. jeffries: mr. schumer was a man of the house before he was a senator and we always welcome you over to the people's chamber sen. schumer: you sound like nancy. rep. jeffries: democrats are always ready and able to work with anyone to find the common ground necessary to solve problems on behalf of the hard-working american taxpayers particularly when it relates to driving down the high cost of living. we understand america is too expensive and far too many hard-working american taxpayers struggling to live paycheck to paycheck. housing costs are too high. childcare is too high, utility costs are high, democrats are committed to driving down the high cost of living for working class americans, middle class americans and everyday americans all across. our republican colleagues are not serious about lowering the high cost of living. they've done nothing and not introduced a single bill, not put

sound the alarm and fight with everything we've got to stop this horrible, horrible act by this doge groupings of course the permission, acquiescence and encouragement of donald trump. leader jeffries? rep. jeffries: mr. schumer was a man of the house before he was a senator and we always welcome you over to the people's chamber sen. schumer: you sound like nancy. rep. jeffries: democrats are always ready and able to work with anyone to find the common ground necessary to solve problems on behalf of the hard-working american taxpayers particularly when it relates to driving down the high cost of living. we understand america is too expensive and far too many hard-working american taxpayers struggling to live paycheck to paycheck. housing costs are too high. childcare is too high, utility costs are high, democrats are committed to driving down the high cost of living for working class americans, middle class americans and everyday americans all across. our republican colleagues are not serious about lowering the high cost of living. they've done nothing and not introduced a single bill, not put

the president and doge group are doing their jobs. they are identifying areas that need to be reduced or eliminated, but congress now has to act. just long-term, to put these policies in place and situations where permanently-speaking we change the trajectory of this spending in washington, d.c. that is where most of the debate is. how do we do that, still maintain the priorities that are important for us to maintain, yet cut the spending stuff so we can have a chance to have a balanced budget someday in the future. host: if you were advising elon musk where would you want doge to look next? guest: probably irs-related stuff. there is a lot of things there. there is also the medicaid area, where there needs to be some changes. we know that there is a lot of fraud going on in that area. we know there are excess dollars being spent that should not be. he is already going after the usaid stuff and the foreign policy and dollars leaving the country. now let's go after the fraud within the country. i think he's going to find a lot of stuff

served in justice department, she is arguing a 4 freight great -- a great point, elon musk and doge groupre government employees. and then she makes a second point, you have the people saying they are unconstitutional that is nonsense, th the second point, you can't have a situation where let's say a career employee, can see information, payment systems i'm thinking, you know where they start, and go and how they get there. but political appointees can. on the face of it that is nonsense. >> i agree, not just nonsense, i think it is ununconstitutional on part of congress to try to prevent president from running the government effectively, i think that courts are outside their proper scope if they start micromanaging the executive branch. suppose congress passed a law saying that generals should come up with the plansplans and they end to the have to show to president, president is not allowed to get outside advice. that is ridiculous. president is the only constitutional officer under article ii of the constitution, everyone in the executive branch works for him, if congress is allowed to

the president says they do want to and they're seeing in real time the discoveries made by the doge groupever heard one democrat sang completely wasteful spending that has been exposed as a good thing, have you? >> is really exposing those members of congress who have a problem with cutting out fraud and waste and abuse inside of our government we should have all of congress cheering on an effort to make sure that the federal government is being a good steward of the tax dollars. i know the american public all across the country, they are cheering on the federal government it's been too long i'm waiting years for someone to step up from this that's one of the reasons why they like president trump he said he's going to do this he's delivering on his progress. >> aig is a perfect place to start, good intentions maybe when some of the programs are started it's been so tied into the bureaucracy mike walls the new national security advisor spoke about that on sunday, play the tape. >> were talking about hundreds of millions of dollars of money that's going to places where it should be going if

department and she's arguing a great point and i quoted her and her points are elon musk and the doge groupre government employees and they are government employees and then she make as second point and you've got all the people saying they're unconstitutional and that's just nonsense and the second point is you can't have a situation where career bureaucrat can see information and payment systems i'm thinking of, john, where they start, where they go and how they get there. political appointees can't, aye the face of it. >> i agree. it's nonsense, larra rhode island it's unconstitutional on the part of congress to try and pre-venn the president from rung the government effectively and i think the courts are outside their proper scope if they start micromanaging the executive branch. congress coming up with the plans and showing for the president and not allowed to get outside of advice whether this or that policy is bad. the president is the only constitutional officer under article 2 of the constitution and everyone in the executive branch works for him and if congress is allowed to say p

with 10,000 employees, if indeed this happens the way the trump administration and and elon musk's doge group wants it to? 10,000 employees leaving, whether they are fired or pushed out or resigned with just 300 people, about left is the agency essentially closed? what will that do to the work of usaid? >> we will be effectively clos w

seen the. >> doge group start to use this. >> data, and i'm sure we'll. >> continue to use. >> this. data for a lot of. different purposes. >> including the decimation of the federal workforce. you know, first, we have this. >> supposedly voluntary resignation. >> but i think after that there's at. >> least indications. >> that it may be used to implement reductions in force. >> right. i mean, and this is the problem, david, is that, you know, it is. i liken it to throwing a smoke bomb in the lobby of the bank, and then everyone's running from the smoke while the robbers are in the vault cleaning out the bank. right. cleaning out the cache. the data is so valuable. right. the data on. imagine having the data of 320 million americans. and your primary business is i. that data is extremely valuable and will give you a tremendous a competitive advantage unlike anything else. even if they're not doing something even crazier, like, you know, making hit lists or making not hit lists, i should say, lists of people that they want to get rid of in the federal government based on some ideologi

elon musk's doge group that's going in there. are concerns about are they leaving things behind, backdoors, other um, i don't want to call it spyware or malware, but more sophisticated things that can't be detected or might not be detected for years to come. so i think that the word that i kept hearing all weekend long from people who don't normally speak this way, they're scared. they're really scared about what all this means and the speed at which it's happening. >> just real quick. do you sense any of that fear in private conversations from the republicans who are supposed to be controlling and overseeing? >> i mean, look, i think i don't think that jim jordan camps are on one side. they obviously have no concerns. they are very well aligned with donald trump. then there are other people who do believe in the power of the purse. they do believe that they are the ones who control the spending. and the executive branch has to spend that money regardless if they like that priority or not. you're hearing some apprehension about t

aid, is one of the first to be targeted by him and his his doge group. and why you think that u.s. aid was one of the first to be culled, if you will yeah, i think i'll start off by saying that every single public servant i've ever worked with, including myself, has an oath to serve the american people. >> and when the american people mandate a leader through a democratic election, then that is what we serve. i would say in in my personal thought, representing myself, that the american people did not mandate, you know, elon musk to be in this role. and and so it feels disjointed. and then i think that usaid represents the best of the american people. it represents empathy. it represents a respect for human dignity. it represents care for others around the world. and it represents, you know, truly the best of what we can give in our generosity. and i think that in the current environment, that's that's being overshadowed by assumptions about the work. and all i can say for my fellow, you know, usaid employees around the world is that the kind of empathy and care that we see in this

unions representing hundreds of thousands of workers filed a lawsuit after trump and elon musk's doge group offered to pay workers through the end of september if they resigned. so far, 65,000 workers have taken them up on the offer, but the white house wants even more. here with us now, corey brettschneider. he is a professor of political science at brown university, and his latest book is the president and the people. five leaders who threaten democracy and the citizens who fought to defend it. professor. great to see you. >> great to see you, too. >> all right. so the response to this sweeping buyout offer has left federal employees pretty stunned and confused. scared. in your view, what is the goal here for the trump? administration? >> well, i think it really is no less than an attempted takeover of the federal branch. the vast numbers of civil servants who make up the executive branch, and to try to turn it from a group that is charged with carrying out the law laws like the clean water act or the clean air act, and to instead turn it into a. devoted, loyal workforce that will simply

i don't see any legal basis for the doge group or people who elon musk or people who work for him toe doing this the way that they are, given the fact that these programs were approved by congress and signed into law, is there anything you can do? >> well, that's what's so disappointing, dana, because our foreign assistance programs have been something that has had bipartisan support, um, since we really started, as you pointed out, back in the 1960s. um, we've had congressional support in a bipartisan way for congressional oversight of agencies for recognizing that it's only congress that can create agencies and not delete. >> forgive me, but we're running out of time, and i just want to get some clarity on this, because obviously, republicans have said, well, that's the problem. >> the problem is that they've given. >> reality and you're in the minority. democrats are in the minority in the house. is there any mechanism, mechanism, whether it's constitutional or. well, i guess through the courts or whatever it is? >> well, there are a number of lawsuits. a number of lawsuits that a

with 10,000 employees, if indeed this happens the way the trump administration and and elon musk's doge group wants it to? 10,000 employees leaving, whether they are fired or pushed out or resigned with just 300 people, about left is the agency essentially closed? what will that do to the work of usaid? >> we will be effectively closed. we will not be able to do any work that we have been doing for the last 60 years, since usaid was founded. humanitarian assistance will stop. food aid will stop being distributed, medication to fight hiv will stop, immunization programs will stop programs that support the private sector development and create jobs in countries overseas will stop our partnerships with american companies will stop. and not only that, in addition to the 10,000 u.s. aid employees, the private sector and the nonprofit sector will also face tremendous layoffs as they are forced to reduce their staff because they no longer have funds from the u.s. government. and these are groups like world vision, catholic relief services, save the children, numerous small businesses in america. and

group. it's a doge, probably mispronounce that.pologies. 1.5 million dollars to advance diversity and equity inclusion in serbian workplaces and bits this communities. what else did mr. musk found? my colleagues don't want to talk about it? well. he reviewed a study. he went and checked it. the study was done by the middle east forum. they found that usaid spent 164 million dollars to support radical organizations. we are not talking cub scout troops here. we are talking about radical organizations around the world. they gave $122 million of that two groups online with foreign terrorist organizations. our taxpayer money. according to this report from mr. musk, usaid has given millions of dollars to " organizations in gaza. controlled by hamas. why? why? why are -- my colleagues, talking about that? host: john kennedy on the floor of the senate. that was wednesday. this is today's op-ed page of "the wall street journal." "the left didn't always love usaid. "it may look like a cherished agency of political progressives but has often

are the legal concerns that you have about this arrangement and the actions that the doge commission or agency or group has taken so far? well, there are a host of legal concerns and then there are a host of human concerns. and i have concerns about both of them because you ask about the legal concerns. i'll start by saying that, you know, doge has been operating in a nontransparent manner. we have a lawsuit filed to try to force transparency requirements that federal law requires the american public gets to know about their government and who is influencing and advising the president and. we believe that they have violated a range of those. what we would call more transparency and accountability protections. but even beyond that, now, this institution or these sort of actors, elon musk and others, are violating things like the privacy act that protects the privacy of individuals across the country, that that prohibits the government from invading that privacy of that personal information. and they are operating in a way that violates our federal protections against arbitrary and capricious government,

now is congresswoman val hoyle, a democrat from oregon who was a member of the bipartisan doge caucus, a group of bipartisan representatives trying to support at least the the spirit of the efforts from elon musk, the so-called doge caucus. but now, congresswoman, you have left that group. what pushed you over the edge? why? >> well, i think. >> that there's two. >> different missions. >> certainly the. >> bipartisan group, most of my colleagues, i would say, truly want to find efficiency in government. right. we have three different branches of government. and as a legislative branch, we came here to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars to make good policy and again, work in good faith to find efficiencies, whether that's. investing in it. >> or. >> you know, combining agencies or departments, you know, making. >> sure. >> we don't have too much bureaucracy. but fundamentally, you can't do that while government is being blown up from the inside. and let's be clear, donald trump and elon musk have a different mission. they say it's about efficiency and saving taxpayer dollars. it isn't. >> it'

if the founding fathers were to be like doge a small group of them would get together and dictate what should've been done in america. they didn't. they set up a congress. they set up debate. and the american people, mark my words, the american people will not stand for an unelected secret group to run rampant through the executive branch. being innovative is good, but mr. mosk, this is in a tech startup these are public institutions that deal with things like social security and medicare national defense and provide for the well-being of the american people. and the american people have a right to be part of that debate, part of that debate. the elections occurred and one viewpoint got a few more votes than the other but that doesn't mean we throughout democracy. that doesn't mean what's been done for centuries in this country should just go out the window and the substituted by a small group of people who think they know a lot more than the wisdom of the american people. so that is why this week leader jeffries and i will join together to push legislation to prevent unlawful meddling

group. it's a doge, probably mispronounce that. apologies. 1.5 million dollars to advance diversity and equity inclusion in serbian workplaces and bits this communities. what else did mr. musk found? my colleagues don't want to talk about it? well. he reviewed a study. he went and checked it. the study was done by the middle east forum. they found that usaid spent 164 million dollars to support radical organizations. we are not talking cub scout troops here. we are talking about radical organizations around the world. they gave $122 million of that two groups online with foreign terrorist organizations. our taxpayer money. according to this report from mr. musk, usaid has given millions of dollars to " organizations in gaza. controlled by hamas. why? why? why are -- my colleagues, talking about that? host: john kennedy on the floor of the senate. that was wednesday. this is today's op-ed page of "the wall street journal." "the left didn't always love usaid. "it may look like a cherished agency of political progressives but has ofte

. >> brian: some of the people working for elon musk group doge are in their 20's.wrong with 20-year-olds have you talked to them in terms of silicon valley is populated by mostly 20 to 30-year-olds. this is their generation and intuitive to them. they are great at it and helped elon musk build 7 major companies richest person in the world. they 40 and 60,000 workers have applied for the six month buyout. examining whether we can do that or not. bottom line is, our federal structure is too big any company instrument to pare it down. when your number one expenditure is paying the debt on money you owe, this has to be the focus. but if you look at the left, all they are doing is mocking elon musk. the smartest, richest people in the world and ring 20-year-olds because they are examining the treasury. so, i hope the judges don't get in the way of this paring down and slimming down of the government. >> lawrence: i know the executive branch has large discretion over these funds. and when i look at all the crisis we're experiencing go back to ohio east palestine. were th

department of government efficiency, which isn't actually a department — it's an advisory group, often referred to as dogeat "to our republic. " and now that donald trump's in power, elon musk�*s work has begun. staff at the aid agency usaid were told they'd be put on leave. staff at the cia and elsewhere have been offered payments to quit. and musk�*s team is seeking to audit all government payments. president trump says musk is doing a "greatjob", but we're still learning what thatjob is. it's very unclear, but it appears that president trump has given mr musk the ability to exercise almost any of mr trump's powers. all of this takes america into new territory, to the alarm of the democrats. before our very eyes, an unelected shadow government is conducting a hostile takeover of the millions to go to ukraine. as bbc verify reported, the video is fake. he claimed that usaid funded bioweapon research, including covid—i9 — again, no evidence. there are other examples too. as for the work itself, musk wants to see spending details across the government. to the treasury's vast payments system. these are it s

treasury secretary scott bessent who opened the doors of the treasury department to doge is being sued. union groups saying it is violating privacy. people who should information with the federal government should not be forced to share information with doge and federal law says they don't have to. doge is just doing the dirty work that no one else has bothered to do in d.c. >> some of the tofu eating people at the usaid are screaming like they are part of a prison riot because they don't want us reviewing the spending. that's all mr. musk is doing. to my friends who are upset, i would say with respect, you know, call somebody who cares. >> so republicans say democrats may care that spending is being cut off but can't defend the wasteful spending that is actually being cut. >> john: there is the rub, isn't it? hillary vaughn on capitol hill. thank you. >> dana: madeleine rivera has the latest on the battle over usaid. >> good morning, dana. secretary of state marco rubio becoming the new acting director of usaid caps days of turmoil. yesterday protestors gathered outside the usaid headquarters in wa

these moves are illegal, and we're working with civil rights groups who are suing doge for these actionselon musk is not fooling us. he has an ulterior motive for going against these agencies. he's trying to hide the abuses he's committed within his own companies, so there's a personal vendetta side to all of this. and he has been a bad boss, not just at twitter but also at spacex. workers have filed complaints, and he's got several lawsuits for the terrible working conditions, including denying mandated rest periods and tesla. that's why he is targeting the department of labor, and he wants to conceal and obstruct the national labor relations board's investigations. then there's tesla. musk has seven complaints under the nlrb for unfair labor practices that affect more than 140,000 employees. and it's the nlrb investigations. if they're not enough, musk is also on the hook with osha for the death of a tesla factory worker in austin, texas. the record is clear -- elon musk is anti-worker and anti-labor. we will not allow the shadow government that musk is leading to destroy government ag

department of government efficiency, which isn't actually a department — it's an advisory group, often referred to as dogereaucracy, which musk calls "an existential threat to our republic." and now that donald trump's in power, elon musk�*s work has begun. staff at the aid agency usaid were told they'd be put on leave. staff at the cia and elsewhere have been offered payments to quit. and musk�*s team is seeking to audit all government payments. president trump says musk is doing a "greatjob", but we're still learning what thatjob is. it's very unclear, but it appears that president trump has given mr musk the ability to exercise almost any of mr trump's powers. all of this takes america into new territory, to the alarm of the democrats. before our very eyes, an unelected shadow government is conducting a hostile takeover of the federal government. it's not unusual for senior figures in us administrations to be unelected, and each president takes a different view on state spending. but what musk is doing is, by his own admission, different. in the us, the federal government oversees policies and services

doge and the trump administration are already facing loss it. laura: there's one from the state democracy defenders fund and other groups aimed at nailing down exactlyhat is doge and is it in violation of the federal committee act that requires transparency? there's another lawsuit brought by federal employees against office of personnel management, which we know that doge and musk got access to. this allows the agency to send emails to all civilian federal agencies at once which are resources and other outlets reported was a specific project of doge and musk. i spoke to the executive director of the national security counselors and he's a lawyer bringing that lawsuit and he had this to say. >> they have decided that the things that worked for them there are a good idea to implement in the federal government. the problem is that the federal government or any government for that matter does not function like a business and it literally cannot function like a business. laura: moments ago another lawsuit, the afl-cio and advocacy groups sued the treasury department forgiving elon musk and doge access to the federal payments system. amna: when you talk

she had a does bang grew before doge -- d.o.g.e. groupore d.o.g.e., and they were able to get these kinds of things done. in terms of what members of congress and say or don't say and the bureaucracy, yes, it is true, a a lot of federal agencies figure they can out last any attempt to reduce their power. host: how much do you think a congressional buy in is what dougie is doing? guest: 73% of the recommendations it required approval by congress. i know there's focus on the executive branch first to do what they can inside the agencies, which i think makes a lot of sense, and then after that, i know that the recommendations are due by july of next year, 2026. that is where i think they will have more work together with congress, because a lot of those changes, you can eliminate -- you cannot eliminate the funding to the states without congress. you can make proposals. but if you measure by outcomes, you will not have the departments spending money the way to spending it. it would go to the states. . they would make it more efficient. we wa

she had a does bang grew before doge -- d.o.g.e. groupore d.o.g.e., and they were able to get these kinds of things done. in terms of what members of congress and say or don't say and the bureaucracy, yes, it is true, a a lot of federal agencies figure they can out last any attempt to reduce their power. host: how much do you think a congressional buy in is what dougie is doing? guest: 73% of the recommendations it required approval by congress. i know there's focus on the executive branch first to do what they can inside the agencies, which i think makes a lot of sense, and then after that, i know that the recommendations are due by july of next year, 2026. that is where i think they will have more work together with congress, because a lot of those changes, you can eliminate -- you cannot eliminate the funding to the states without congress. you can make proposals. but if you measure by outcomes, you will not have the departments spending money the way to spending it. it would go to the states. . they would make it more efficient. we wa

you think it's best for america, for elon musk and his teenage and college grad group of doge guys runningensitive systems and having access to these things is best for the united states government and our democracy. and for the average american, it's not. people need to really understand what's happening. i think the shock and awe of what's happening is taking some people by surprise. many of us, it's not because we warned against this. they wrote an entire manual called project 2025 to tell us what they were doing. it is all under the auspices of government efficiency, but that's bs and we know it. there's nothing efficient about any of this. this is a this is a full on assault. and it's not something that i think the average american is going to fully appreciate until they feel enough pain. when people voted for change, they were just voting against the status quo. they weren't voting for this. and i think it's important that we frame it that way. we can't normalize this as just being, well, some people are coming in and they established a blue ribbon commission to study the, you know,

musk leads the department of government efficiency, a department — it's an advisory group, often referred to as dogeat donald trump's in power, elon musk�*s work has begun. staff at the aid agency usaid were told they'd be put on leave. offered payments to quit. and musk�*s team is seeking to audit all government payments. but we're still learning what thatjob is. it's very unclear, but it appears that president trump has given mr musk the ability to exercise almost any into new territory, before our very eyes, an unelected shadow government is conducting a hostile takeover of the federal government. it's not unusual for senior figures in us administrations to be unelected, and each president takes a different view on state spending. in the us, the federal government oversees policies and services applying to the whole country, as opposed to at state level. its most recent annual budget was $6.75 trillion. this provides funds for everything from the military to education to healthcare, overseas aid and much more. including calling usaid a criminal organisation. he shared a video claiming usaid pays

elon musk, chair of doge, posted, doge discovered treasury were instructed to approve payments even to known fraudulent or terrorist groups, ne never. >> brian: it was on me, i thought doge was going to get in and make recommend aations, but what doge is doing, when scott bessent says i'm treasury secretary, elon, you can go take a look at the books. they are looking at invoices. look at size of federal workforce 2.3 million. if you want to resign, now is the taiwan. look at spending, find out how much we're spending. you see the budget this big, how many are looking. doge is looking at everything. my hope, when a lot of stalwarts in congress say i want to cut spending before i approve tax increases or anything, i'm e eliminating u.s. aid. it is hard arguing against cuts, some are empty buildings and programs that are defunct and counter to america or like you say, dicey groups. >> ainsley: it is astonishing to say, they have never done this before. it is like if you need to save money to buy for your family, you look at your spending and say, what can i cut, we will not go eat as much. >> steve: we heard donald trump rai

as i know, your group has also filed suit against doge over its uncertain legal status and authorities previously absolutely. >> well, thanks so much for having me. and you know, our suit simply demands an immediate end to the systemic, continuous and ongoing violation of federal laws that protect all of our privacy. that is, the privacy of personal information contained in federal records. it's a big deal because the treasury maintains sensitive personal and financial information of all of us, of millions of americans, and there are laws in place to protect us. we are simply suing to put us back to regular order. >> are there assurances that elon musk or the secretary of the treasury could offer that would make. it's not really about feelings, but i'll say it. i'll put it that way. it would make you feel better about doge staffers gaining access to this sensitive treasury data. >> i don't think so. it's a great question, but, you know, treasury is claiming that, you know, tom krause, ceo of cloud group, has read only access as if that is supposed to make us feel better. but it's a rem

restricting elon musk's department of government efficiency doge from accessing treasury department payment systems. the agreement comes after a group of union members and retirees sued the treasury department, alleging that providing musk and his team access violated federal privacy laws. attorneys for the justice department agreed to temporarily restrict those doge staffers from accessing the system. the order did allow exceptions for two employees. however, the white house confirms one of those two employees, marco ellis, just resigned today after he was allegedly linked to a twitter account that advocated for racism and eugenics. also today, the online battle between elon musk and a bay area congressman got more heated. at issue what musk is doing for president trump. our business and tech reporter, scott budman spoke one on one with congressman ro khanna and scott. we know these gentlemen for years now. both of them don't back down. no. it's true. raj congressman ro khanna says he's looking out for his constituents, some of whom work for elon musk, and he doesn't mind the back and forth insults on social media. heigh ho. elon m

. >> good morning man opened the doors of the treasury department to doge being sued treasury secretary scott bessent union groups filing lawsuit saying violating rights to prooifs giving musk access to information saying people must share information with federal government should not be forced, to share information with elon musk or his doge, and federal law says they do not have to, that is democrats, did something they rarely do work on a monday, they have press conferences rallies calling elon musk and his doge team a shadow government that is conducting a hostile takeover of our country no to give doge a chokehold on treasury statements outlandishly dangerous, he like a tiger into a petting zoo hoping for the best. >> we are living a nightmare created by donald trump and elon musk, and we need to wake up. >> doge not outsiders white house saying musk has official title special government employee department of government efficiency is part of the executive branch musk reacting to the democrats out outrage calling it hysterical, explaining why they need he access in first place only way to stop fraud, waste

what elon musk and his group of of doge folks are actually doing in our departments. what we do know is they have no government experience. they're not have not passed major national security clearances, and they have been given complete access to the american public's personal information and our financial information. and so that deserves answers. and that's what we're doing today in the committee. we're calling out what we think are unconstitutional actions and making sure that everyone knows what elon musk is doing. he is doing on behalf of himself, and in my opinion, so that he can redirect the american public's wealth into huge tax cuts for himself and his billionaire friends. >> and again, i know that's what you believe he is doing. we don't have evidence to support that. that is actually happening right now. but there are questions and concerns about that. again, um, just to follow up with you, katie miller, the a spokesperson for doge, has said that no one has received or viewed classified information on the doge team if they haven't had security clearances.

host: if you are interested in the topic of doge and its actions, on c-span-3, the organization or the groupe to reduce spending and increase government efficiency. an oversight and government committee meeting on the efforts on government efficiency. the hearing you can see at 10:00 on c-span 3 and also on c-span now and online at c-span.org. john in falls church, virginia, democrats line. caller: good morning, pedro. you are doing an excellent job of informing us of what is going on. i am not an anti-trooper and in fact i am moving towards his views -- anti-trumper, in fact i am moving towards his views. but i was wondering how mr. trump expects to pay for the rebuilding of gaza. and remember everybody, we are the united states of america. united we stand, divided we fall. host: one more call from bill in alabama, republican line. caller: thank you for taking my call. i am a first time caller and i just want to say that the previous color from alabama said something about 5 million people trying to vote in alabama. we don't even have 5 million in the whole state. this shows the intelligenc

we've been reporting it out on the treasury department side as well, where there are doge personnel that the elon musk group that was created by an executive order on the first day of the presidency, they were trying to get access or getting access to the security system and personnel files. is that how did this work? >> so on saturday, a team from doge showed up at usaid demanding entrance, and they were initially blocked from getting in. we're told that they threatened the people at the at the headquarters to saying that they would get the u.s. marshals over to, to basically force their way in to barge into the building. they wanted access to security systems, even classified areas, and eventually they did get into the building. and as a result, the top two security officials for usaid were put on leave, joining many other top usaid career officials who have been put on leave. amid these fears that the agency is being gutted. >> just real quick, because i know we have to go. do we know who these people are? >> not exactly the people who are actually showing up under the doge umbrella. we don't know who th

group. >> thank you. >> elon musk's doge adding more targets to its sites even as he faces legal hurdles. fox business' hillary vaughn live on capitol hill. are there other courts challenges happening? >> there are. other court counters have thrown a wrench of the department of government efficiency's progress. over the weekend, a judge ruling that they are banning access to the treasury payment system for the 021025foxnews1300, out of fear of sensitive information could be disclosed. president trump president trump says doge will not be deterred, and will continue to deliver on their mission of saving americans money. >> when a president can look for fraud, waste, abuse, we are not a country anymore. shouldn't -- to make the kind of a decision. it's a disgrace. some of that stuff is very fragile end. maybe we have less debt than we thought of. think of that. a lot of things are happening. elon is doing an excellent job. >> the 021025foxnews1300 has expanded its spread to other agencies. the department of home security and fema finding them selves in the hot seat. musk saying "the 021025f

this up, but it's true -- according to a report in "wired," a 25-year-old engineer from musk's doge group gained access, direct access, to the treasury department's systems responsible for nearly all payments made by the federal government. this is someone whose only other experience is working for musk at other places, at spacex and twitter. this unelected, unvetted member of musk's doge team reportedly has administer-level privileges, normally access privileges to this highly secure system are reserved for high-level professionals with years and years of experience at the treasury department. this breach by elon musk's doge minions may expose the system to irreversible damage, undermining our individual privacy rights and our country's economic and national security. and many of us will simply not stand for it. on top of this, trump triggered a vast and ongoing blockade of congressionally appropriated federal funds, the impacts of which are still reverberating across the nation. the masterminds -- air quote -- behind this whole mess are trump, elon musk and, yes, russell vought. trump's

doge staffers met virtually with labor staff yesterday afternoon after a protest that drew hundreds outside the agency's headquarters in washington. meanwhile, government employee unions and labor groupst yesterday, contending that doge will attempt to illegally gain access to labor department systems containing sensitive information and unlawfully fire career personnel. specifically, the lawsuit states that the labor department employees were told, quote, were quote told by department leadership that when mr. musk and his team visit the department, they are to do whatever they ask not to push back, not to ask questions. joining us now is president and ceo of the legal organization democracy forward, skye perryman. democracy forward actually filed the lawsuit yesterday against doge on behalf of a coalition of federal unions. so let's start right there, because this is a very fast legal action, and i know that all of them have been fast because the legal system is quite slow. so it's all relative. but this one was extremely rapid. what do you attribute the ability to get it into district court so quickly to? well, first. >> let me just say there are lots. >> of lawyers at democracy. >>

doge team. that are this small group of very, very young men, people. >> say. >> don't be ageist. >> they might be. >> super talented. >> they might know. >> what they're doing. >> some have special attributes. >> yes, but. >> but but when. >> you have some of. >> them that are, that are 19, 20 years old and their next target is the department of education. >> how what are the credentials. >> that they could argue that this group. of individuals have, that. >> they're going to. >> know what's working or not working. >> within the doe? >> i don't even think they're going to try to make that argument. they're loyal to elon musk. they're like, it's like a child army. like that's a very dangerous thing to wield, partly because like, they don't. >> know right from wrong. >> they're very loyal. they'll listen to the grown up who's commanding them, and they have these technical skills in this instance where it makes them able to, i don't know, unplug the right things or patch the right software or i don't know what the hell they do and they do, but it's not an accident. i don't think that they are a.

is work for doge, the department of government efficiency. >> headed up. >> by elon. >> musk. who's brought in a groupfted young. >> engineers, some in their early 20s with no prior government experience. their current job assignments unclear. >> but it is clear they're part of. >> the trump administration's plan to slash government agencies. democratic senators sent a letter to the white house. describing how doge staff has seemingly. unfettered access to. >> classified materials. >> and americans. personal information. >> in federal court. >> government lawyers said marko elez had read. >> only access to. a highly. >> sensitive payment system at the treasury. >> department. >> the. liftoff. >> elez, who. >> previously worked at. >> spacex. >> has been the. >> center of attention. >> his doge position. >> was terminated after the wall. >> street journal uncovered racist and eugenic. posts on an account linked. >> to him. but then. >> elon musk, the vice president, and. >> trump himself weighed in. >> on the doge engineers, was fired for some inappropriate posts. the vice president says bring him back

in one second, but can you go back to who you know a little bit more about this doge person who resigned and just the group in general? who are they? what are their credentials? because you heard beth right there say they were highly skilled professionals. >> well, this one individual. >> had worked. >> for some of elon musk's companies, 25 years old, an engineer who had gone to rutgers university. and, you know, my colleague found these social media posts from a deactivated or deleted account that were very controversial. and when the white house was asked about this, the white house told my colleague that this individual had resigned. >> all right, justin, i'm guessing president trump doesn't like that elon musk is getting all the attention. so let's talk trump for a moment. and tariffs we saw over the weekend right. tariffs tariffs. he's imposing them within 24 hours. big wall street investors and ceo ceos called him and said and the markets and the business set are the two guardrails trump has. so he backed off when it came to canada and mexico but not china. he imposed tariffs. but china didn't just t

doge? >> sure. >> so elon musk has a group. of loyalists who he. >> sort. >> of brings from. >> business to business. >> to project. >> and one. >> of these. >> is a. turkish venture. capitalist who. is a. >> us green card holder. >> but us. >> law generally. >> states that. >> to work for the federal. >> government, you have. >> to be. >> a us citizen. >> and elon musk asked the white house, trump's team of advisers. >> for an exception. >> and the answer. >> came back. >> an. unequivocal no. and they basically. >> told musk that, look. >> right now. >> under donald trump, we're in the business. >> of deportations. >> and it would. send a very confusing message to bring in a. >> foreigner. >> even a green card holder, to help you essentially lay off and shrink. >> the. american federal. >> government workforce. >> and our understanding was elon musk and his team. accepted that and moved on. but we. >> sort of viewed that as. >> you know. >> a glimpse into what is. >> right now in washington. >> the most watched relationship. >

. >> people are, you know, when you criticize elon musk's doge team that are this small group of very, very young men, people say, don't be ageist. they might be super talented, they might know what they're doing. >> some have special attributes. >> yes, but but but when you have some of them that are, that are 19, 20 years old and their next target is the department of education, how what are the credentials that they could argue that this group of individuals have, that they're going to know what's working or not working within the doe? >> i don't even think they're going to. >> try to make that argument. they're loyal to. >> elon musk. they're like, it's like a child army. >> like that's a very dangerous. >> thing. >> to wield. >> partly because like, they. >> don't know. >> right. >> from wrong. >> they're very loyal. >> they'll listen to the grown up who's commanding them, and they have these technical skills in this instance where it makes them able to, i don't know, unplug. >> the right. >> things or. >> patch the right. >> software or i don't know what the hell they do and the

doge is trying to do. so, for example, when groups sue the treasury department saying elon musk doesn't have the authority to access treasury payment management systems through a couple of employees at doge, that puts the onus back on the department of justice as the representative for executive branch employees and agencies to say what exactly it is that they are trying to do, or what access they want and why. but, kitty, the other part of this, as i said, lays in the hands of current employees being willing to tell people like you and me what it is that they're seeing. and we've seen reporting over the last week about people who literally tried to bar doge employees from coming in the door to the bureau of fiscal services, for example, at the department of treasury. we know that they have tried to barge their way in at the department of education, at the department of labor, at a number of other agencies. those people theoretically are in a position to see what it is that elon musk's folks from doge are trying to do through their access to data, but some of that may not even be transparent to them. the r