Why are the Democrats acting like DOGE is ‘legitimate’?

Late. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) questioned why Democrats are acting like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) panel is “legitimate” during a podcast appearance.

“Having seen Trump in his first term, when nothing was real, not true, when everything was a feint or a fake — it was never infrastructure week, was it? He was never serious, after Parkland, about doing gun control. Why decide are we suddenly taking this government efficiency task force seriously?Murphy said in a Thursday episode of The New Republic’s “The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent.”

“Like, why are we acting like this is legit?” he added.

Trump said last month that Musk and Ramaswamy would serve as heads of DOGE, which aims to “cut excess regulations, cut wasteful spending” and restructure federal agencies.

DOGE would “provide advice and guidance outside of government” and work with the White House Office of Management and Budget, the president-elect said.

“It will potentially be the ‘Manhattan Project’ of our time,” Trump added. “Republican politicians have dreamed up the goals of ‘DOGE’ for a very long time.”

Murphy said on the podcast that DOGE “is not a department” and “it’s run by two billionaires, people who have no idea how important basic government services like Medicaid, Social Security, Veterans Benefits are to ordinary people.”

“But there are a lot of Democrats, you know, who are openly saying, ‘I (will) work with them. … I’m going to sit down with this group and give the appearance that this is something other than either a TV show or an attempt by the billionaire class to privatize government for their own benefit,” Murphy added.

The Hill has reached out to Ramaswamy, Trump’s transition team and social platform X, which Musk owns.

A number of Democrats have expressed openness to working with DOGE, especially if it considers reductions in defense spending.

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