Rep. Ilhan Omar: "DOGE's dismantling of the federal government is what the beginning of dictatorship looks like.
It is merely a resumption of the insurrection Trump attempted after losing the 2020 election."
Posted on 02/15/2025 1:45:09 AM PST by John Semmens
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif) went on "MSNBC Reports" to complain about "the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) irresponsible slashing of fraud, waste, and abuse that has been taking place in the various federal agencies. These expenditures have been in in the federal budget for years, sometimes for decades with the full consent of Congress. They can't be cut or eliminated without the full consent of Congress. If Trump doesn't restore the grants, contracts, and subsidies that have traditionally been authorized we won't approve the debt increase that is needed to keep the government open."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested that "Rep. Swalwell might want to rethink his strategy. During government shutdowns essential services like the military, law-enforcement, and Social Security payments are always continued. What isn't included is unnecessary expenditures of the type that DOGE is discovering in their audit. A year ago the non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimated that the federal government made $236 improper payments during the 2023 fiscal year and a total of $2.7 trillion improper payments over the past 20 years. Eliminating these improper payments should leave enough funds to pay for essential services."
"I believe a sufficient number of Republicans will support a Democrat-sponsored measure to block using any savings from reducing fraud, waste, and abuse from being used to fund essential services," Swalwell boasted. "Trump may believe he has a mandate from voters to slim down the federal government, but he doesn't have a mandate from the permanent government--both the bureaucracy that sends out the checks and the Congress that has appropriated the money."
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn) declared that "DOGE's dismantling of the federal government is what the beginning of dictatorship looks like. Stopping payments individuals and corporations have come to count on and firing federal employees who have no marketable skills in a relentless campaign to promote efficiency and reduce costs will disrupt a way of life that has become customary for tens of millions of people who live in America. It is merely a resumption of the insurrection Trump attempted after losing the 2020 election."
Even more alarming, several "red" states are joining the hunt for waste, fraud, and abuse. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and Republican-majority legislatures in Idaho, Texas, Kansas, and Missouri are creating special DOGE-like efforts. Gov. Stitt explained "everyone who's spent any time inside the government knows it has not been operating efficiently. We have an obligation to our taxpayers to weed out the waste of their hard-earned money on non-essential spending."
ping
LOL, this is rich. Congress has been funding this graft and corruption for years, and by god, Musk and Trump can’t just waltz in here and put an end to it. There are laws and it’s undemocratic.
What's different this time is that we have a President who won't threaten to stop Social Security payments if Congress doesn't pass a bloated budget. So go ahead, shut the whole thing down. Just think of all those illegal aliens who won't get their Section 8 rent payments. Think of all those EBT cards which won't get recharged. Get ready to embrace the lamentations of your party Swalwell.
don’t threaten me with a good time
Trump is looking forward to the Democrats shutting down the government in the next debt ceiling or budget battle.
Trump is like Br’er Rabbit, “Don’t throw me in the briar patch.
TRUMP “Please don’t shut down the government. “ 😁
Since no official budget has been in effect since the Clinton era, CRs do not stipulate what is going to be spent specifically for any government function. It’s basically up yo each cabinet secretary to manage their department. Obviously, they haven’t. This has been going on now for almost 20 years and is the reason for the mess we are in.
Rep. Ilhan Omar: "DOGE's dismantling of the federal government is what the beginning of dictatorship looks like.
It is merely a resumption of the insurrection Trump attempted after losing the 2020 election."
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