Elon Musk is getting some (tentative) bipartisan interest as he heads to Capitol Hill
Republicans are set to fete Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy Thursday in a Capitol Hill gathering, but there are also signs that the pair's extra-governmental "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) is attracting interest from across the political aisle.
"One of the things that’s been encouraging about seeing DOGE come into existence is how nonpartisan and even apolitical the interest in this mission has been," Ramaswamy said Wednesday afternoon in an appearance at the Aspen Security Forum before his planned Capitol Hill stop today.
Ramaswamy was talking primarily about business leaders he said are flooding his inbox, but it could equally be applied to at least a few Capitol Hill denizens.
"Elon Musk is right," posted Sen. Bernie Sanders earlier this week in reference to trimming military spending.
"Reducing ineffective government spending should not be a partisan issue," added Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Florida Democrat who was the first Democrat to joined the House's now-bipartisan "DOGE caucus."
But for today at least, the focus will be on the GOP members who have embraced the Tesla (TSLA) CEO as well as Ramaswamy and invited them in for a discussion where Republican lawmakers are expected to trade ideas for cuts with the two billionaires.
Where Democrats and DOGE could agree
The expressions of bipartisan interest come as both parties have pushed against government waste for years, especially for programs they were less fond of in the first place.
Another DOGE-curious Democrat is Rep. Ro Khanna, who also pointed to the US military as an area to cut in multiple interviews this week, telling Forbes that "defense contractors are fleecing the American people."
Khanna also slammed a recent California decision to exclude Tesla from EV tax credits alongside his DOGE comments, earning him praise from Musk who called him "a sensible moderate."
Sen. Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats, also focused on the military in his post, echoing Musk and Ramaswamy who often point out that the Pentagon recently failed its seventh audit in a row.
The back and forth has led Musk to even follow Sen. Sanders on X, but additional areas of agreement could be limited.
Sanders has long been a proponent of growing government in other realms and often advocates raising taxes to cover the shortfall, a nonstarter among most Republicans.
Sanders also posted this weekend "we must defeat the oligarchs," a sentiment Musk is unlikely to echo.
Likewise, both Sanders and Khanna are supporters of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency which Musk recently said he wants to "delete."
As for Congressman Moskowitz, he announced his intention to join up with Republicans on DOGE to highlight one issue in particular: his push to break apart the Department of Homeland Security.
"It's not practical to have 22 agencies under this one department," Moskowitz offered in a statement. "I look forward to working in a bipartisan manner with my colleagues to remove FEMA and Secret Service from DHS" and make them independent agencies.
Challenges for DOGE
In any case, the new group from Musk and Ramaswamy has set up an ambitious agenda for the years ahead.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, in announcing the gathering last week, said today's meeting would be "to discuss major reform ideas to achieve regulatory rescissions, administrative reductions, and cost savings—& revive the principle of limited government!"
It comes as experts have questioned exactly how many of those planks DOGE will ultimately be able to execute, especially in areas like slashing regulations as well as Musk’s promise to cut "at least 2 trillion" from the annual federal budget.
"Although I wish Elon Musk and [Vivek] Ramaswamy luck in finding more efficiencies in the federal government," said Brookings Institute senior fellow Isabel Sawhill in an appearance this week, "that’s not likely to save a lot of money unless the president-elect gives up on his pledge not to cut Social Security or Medicare."
She is the co-author of a recent plan to equalize government spending through both cuts and increased taxes. She notes that 87% of government spending growth in the coming decade is set to come through those "entitlement" programs as well as interest on the US debt.
"There’s not much else going on," she said.
For his part, Ramaswamy seemed on Wednesday to be trying to shift the focus in his effort away from simply cutting deficits.
He used Wednesday’s appearance to argue that exclusively looking at DOGE as a means to cut the deficit "understates the impact we hope to have," arguing instead that his No. 1 metric for success will be increased GDP growth.
"I hope that’s why our success is going to be one that isn't a partisan victory, but it’s something that goes beyond traditional politics," he added later.
Ben Werschkul is Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
Every Friday, Yahoo Finance's Rachelle Akuffo, Rick Newman, and Ben Werschkul bring you a unique look at how U.S. policy and government affects your bottom line on Capitol Gains. Watch or listen to Capitol Gains on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
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