Report: Senate Republican leaders anxious about DOGE spending cuts, firings

Elon Musk and his efforts in leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under President Donald Trump have resulted in unexpectedly amazing savings across all sectors of the U.S. government.

The cuts are so sweeping and oftentimes mind-blowing that they seem to have some Republican senators curiously on the nervous side.

According to reports, some Republican senators already believe that Musk's services, while appreciated, might no longer be needed now that Trump has all of his Cabinet picks confirmed by the upper chamber.

Some GOP senators have expressed their interest in turning over personnel firing decisions to the respective agency heads, instead of allowing Musk and his team to have free reign.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told reporters this week that he says it seems fair that Trump's Cabinet officials, now that they're all in place, should take over those duties.

"I think that's why we work so hard to get these folks confirmed, and they're now in a position to make those decisions," Thune said.

He added, "I think some of them already asserted that right to make those decisions."

The outlet noted:

The desire to limit the day-to-day roles of Musk and DOGE is the latest iteration from congressional Republicans of the mounting heartburn over the far-reaching mission to root out alleged waste, fraud, and abuse that has sparked chaos across the federal government.

Thune praised Trump's agency heads, saying they are "very capable people that are going to be responsible for running big departments and agencies and overseeing thousands of employees," adding that they should be the ones responsible to "try and make their departments work more efficiently and to find savings."

Of course, that's why Trump hired Musk to fill that role, as no matter how good the agency heads are, making mass firing decisions within their own departments is not politically easy.

With Musk and DOGE as a sort of independent auditor, trimming the fat in every department is far easier to do.

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY), for his part, appears to be coming down on the side of Thune when it comes to who should be overseeing the cuts.

"There is massive amount of waste in government," Barrasso added. "I think that's the next step, is the Cabinet doing it."

With all due respect to the senators, it's apparent that they're not reading the room, as Americans are loving Musk's work and want it to continue until there's no waste left.