Frustration arising over Musk among GOP members

Elon Musk came out swinging from Day One, and he is now starting to ruffle some feathers among the GOP elected.

While most of the GOP supports the idea of DOGE, they are getting frustrated with Musk’s tweets, feeling as though they are being fed to the wolves.

Musk Denied

Musk got all this started with his now infamous email telling federal workers to outline their accomplishments for the week or a non-response would be consider a resignation.

He posted his intent regarding the email on X, writing, “Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”

Several top Trump officials rejected the email, including Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The response sent out by State read, “The State Department will respond on behalf of the Department. No employee is obligated to report their activities outside their Department chain of command.”

Tulsi Gabbard cited national security in her memo to staff telling them not to respond, and the Kash Patel’s office stated, “The FBI, through the Office of the Director, is in charge of all of our review processes, and will conduct reviews in accordance with FBI procedures. When and if further information is required, we will coordinate the responses.”

Frustration Arises

Several House Republicans spoke up this week about Musk and DOGE. While they support DOGE, they believe Musk is doing a very poor job communicating with other departments.

For instance, Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA) stated, "He wants to see better communication between DOGE, the president, and the House, because we’re getting fed to the wolves, while Elon’s just tweeting.”

A second lawmaker, who did not want his name published, stated, "I’m going to echo Austin’s comments about, you know, it would be nice to have some heads up. There’s a lot of questions. Words matter, right? So let’s make sure we’re putting out accurate information that’s correct.”

Scott issued a formal statement about Musk’s email, stating, "DOGE's recent requests for federal employees should have been coordinated with the agencies before they were issued. I fully support those agencies working with DOGE to improve efficiency and eliminate tax dollar waste. With that being said, referring to Americans who may need government assistance as ‘parasites’ is unacceptable in any circumstance."

Musk Tries to Explain

This week, Donald Trump held his first cabinet meeting, and while Musk is only an adviser, he was asked to attend to offer some context on his letter.

Musk explained the role of DOGE, stating, "DOGE is a support function for the president and for the agencies and departments, to help achieve those savings and to effectively find 15% in reduction in fraud and waste.” He further tried to explain the email as a conduit to try to spot fraud and waste in government operations.

The real question that needs to be answered is just how much power does Musk have? He is an adviser, and Donald Trump has even stated that Musk can only make recommendations, not the final call, but Musk clearly made it sound as though he had the right to fire staffers if they did not answer his email.

This aspect of the administration is disjointed at best, and it gives the perception of a power struggle, whether or not there is one. I would suggest that Trump get everyone on the same page here, especially when it comes to policies that Musk continues to spit out on X. Otherwise, the mainstream media is going to shred them every chance they get.