Ro Khanna promises ‘support’ to DOGE – Washington Examiner
Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, expressed his support for the newly established Department of Government Efficiency regarding the defense budget. His remarks followed the appointment of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who are tasked with forming a team focused on improving government operations. Khanna emphasized the need for bipartisan collaboration to address issues in the nearly $1 trillion defense budget, which he noted has been plagued by waste, fraud, and inefficiency. He highlighted the Pentagon’s failure to pass multiple audits and proposed fostering open competition among defense contractors as a potential solution. Musk responded positively to Khanna’s comments, indicating a willingness for collaboration on these issues.
Ro Khanna promises ‘support’ to DOGE
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) swore his “support” to the new Department of Government Efficiency when it comes to the defense budget.
In the weeks since President-elect Donald Trump won the Oval Office, he has named Tesla CEO Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy the heads of DOGE. While they aren’t government officials, it is their job to create “a lean team of small-government crusaders” to work closely with the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Despite Khanna’s disagreements with Ramaswamy, he confirmed on CNN Newsroom on Monday that there are some areas DOGE should fix.
“Let me provide an area where there could be bipartisan collaboration. I mean, the defense budget, which is nearly $1 trillion, is dominated by five crimes. There has been tremendous reporting about the waste, fraud, and abuse in that budget. The Pentagon hasn‘t passed an audit and has failed the last six or seven audits. So, if they go to say there needs to be more open competition, not the monopolization in defense contractors, and propose recommendations, that’s something that I think could be supported.”
“When it comes to cutting waste, fraud, and abuse and opening the 5 primes to more competition, there are Democrats on [House Armed Services Committee] who will work with @elonmusk and @DOGE,” Khanna captioned the clip on X.
“Cool!” Musk responded to the clip.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) will head the House DOGE subcommittee under the Oversight Committee. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) will lead the DOGE Senate Caucus. Since they will be run by Republican members, Khanna issued a few warnings to avoid pushback from the Democratic Party.
“If they find areas of truly wasteful spending across the government, they would get support. But if they start to recommend cuts in Social Security or Medicare or Title I education funding, they’ll face strong resistance. So it really just depends on what they recommend,” Khanna said.
Ramaswamy called to abolish the department as recently as last summer while running his own campaign for president. Khanna reacted to the news that he referred to as “horrifying” that the Education Department could be in Ramaswamy’s crosshairs. According to Khanna, the investment into education between 1910 and 1940 made America the superpower it is.
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