Dems fail to land viral moment at DOGE hearing
The highly anticipated first meeting of the House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency, or DOGE, came and went on Wednesday with scarce political drama.
Democrats sought to cast the subcommittee — a complementary effort to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk — as an extension of what they see as a corrupt executive branch plot to destroy the federal bureaucracy. But Republicans largely sidestepped those attacks, arguing they were in the business of eliminating government waste while Democrats had little interest in engaging earnestly on the subject.
It was a surprising twist for a panel filled with political firebrands and chaired by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who just a few years ago was stripped of her committee assignments for controversial actions like suggesting she supported the assassination of then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And on Wednesday, Democrats seemed at times keen on provoking Greene, known for viral spats and sparring with fellow lawmakers.
At one point, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) announced he'd decided to bring a 'dick pic,' after Greene showed explicit images of Hunter Biden in a House Oversight Committee hearing in the previous Congress. Garcia then displayed a photo of 'President Elon Musk.'
'We should in no way be cooperating with House Republicans who want to shut down the Department of Education and destroy Medicare and Medicaid,' said Garcia at the hearing.
And Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), who last year said during a spat with Greene during an Oversight Committee hearing that her colleague had 'bleach blonde, bad built, butch body,' said Wednesday that Greene's leadership of the DOGE subcommittee was notable, given her absence from a number of past hearings dealing with 'improper payments.'
Greene has marketed her panel as a serious partner in Musk's efforts to reduce government waste. On Wednesday, she said her subcommittee would soon release a report with legislative solutions to the problems raised at the hearing, titled 'The War on Waste: Stamping Out the Scourge of Improper Payments and Fraud.'
'This is not a time for political theater and partisan attacks. The American people are watching. The legislative branch can't sit on the sidelines,' Greene said in her opening remarks.
She also announced that the subcommittee had finalized a date to hold a hearing on whether the federally-funded public news outlets PBS and NPR are engaging in political bias in their coverage, and convene to discuss the U.S. Agency for International Development, which the administration is moving to dismantle.
'In this subcommittee,' Greene said, 'we will fight the war on waste shoulder to shoulder with President Trump, Elon Musk and the DOGE team.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Wisconsin Democratic Convention, new party chair to be elected
The Brief Wisconsin Democrats will elect a new party chair at this year's state convention. Ben Wikler is credited with transforming the party into a fundraising powerhouse. The convention may provide insight into whether Evers intends to run for reelection. MILWAUKEE - Wisconsin Democrats will elect a new party chair at this year's state convention, which runs Saturday and Sunday. What's next Delegates will decide who will succeed WisDems Chair Ben Wikler. In April, the party announced that he would not seek a fourth term. He was first elected in 2019. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android Wikler is credited with transforming the party into a fundraising powerhouse that helped lead to some big wins for Democrats statewide during his tenure – including successful reelection campaigns for Gov. Tony Evers and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin. >>IMAGE>> Three candidates, Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy among them, have emerged to succeed Wikler. Sarah Abel, WisDems executive director, said whoever wins will have big shoes to fill. "I think the qualities that each of these candidates bring are similar. They have knowledge of how to run and win elections. They have some knowledge when it comes to fundraising, and they have knowledge when it comes to messaging and media," she said. "I think those are the really core things, understanding our organizing and our county parties, who are the backbone of this state party, is really important, and I think all three candidates understand that." Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair Brian Schimming was reelected to his second term in December. The convention could also provide insight into whether Gov. Tony Evers intends to run for reelection. Evers has repeatedly said he won't make a decision about whether to run for a third term in 2026 until after the upcoming state budget is done. Earlier this month, Senate Republicans said they were confident the Legislature would pass a budget that Evers would sign into law. SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News Abel said she is hopeful the governor will decide to run for a third term. "I'm not going to question his decisions on when he should be making those decisions," she said. "I certainly hope he will run again. He's been an incredible leader for this state and for our party. And you know, we're looking to our entire convention theme is 'Road to 2026.' We're looking to flip the state House and state Senate to give him partners to work with, so we can hopefully finally pass some legislation." Evers is listed as the final speaker before a keynote address on Saturday night. The Source FOX6 News interviewed Abel and referenced an Associated Press report for this story.
Hamilton Spectator
an hour ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Doug Ford returning to U.S. to fight Donald Trump's tariffs
Premier Doug Ford and his counterparts from the Atlantic provinces are headed stateside to promote trade with New England governors. Ford, who quietly met with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp last week at Queen's Park, has been stepping up the lobbying of U.S. leaders against President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canadian goods. 'You can keep tariffing everything, but it's hurting the American people,' the premier told a Toronto business conference last Monday. That's a reference to the fact that U.S. companies importing products from Canada are already passing along their higher costs to consumers. Ford also noted Ontario alone does $500 billion in annual two-way trade with the U.S., and the province is the largest trading partner with 17 of America's 50 states. 'I've had an opportunity to speak to many governors and senators and congresspeople — Republicans or Democrats … (and) every single person I speak to says we can't pick a fight with everyone in the world — and especially you can't pick a fight with your number-one customer,' he said. 'We need to move on.' Along with another wave of appearances on American cable news shows to underscore the importance of trade with Canada, the premier is moving to further strengthen ties with state governors. To that end, Ford, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier John Hogan and Prince Edward Island Premier Rob Lantz will be in Boston on Monday. The premiers will be meeting with Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont. During last winter's provincial election campaign, which the governing Progressive Conservatives successfully framed as a referendum on which party could best deal with Trump, Ford twice visited Washington, D.C., to lobby U.S. lawmakers.
3 hours ago
US Senate seeks to add expanded compensation for nuclear radiation victims to tax bill
WASHINGTON -- A program to compensate people exposed to radiation from past nuclear weapons testing and manufacturing could be restarted and expanded under a provision added by U.S. senators to the major tax and budget policy bill. The language added Thursday to the Senate version of the massive tax bill would overhaul the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, which was originally enacted in 1990 and expired about a year ago. The law compensated people in about a dozen western states who developed serious illnesses from nuclear testing and manufacturing stemming from World War II-era efforts to develop the atomic bomb. The new Senate provision would expand the coverage to states including Missouri and Tennessee, among other places. It would also cover a wider range of illnesses. The program's limited scope in the West has led Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri to push for its expansion to include uranium sites in St. Louis and victims in other states. His advocacy led the Senate to twice pass a major overhaul of the program, but it stalled in the U.S. House amid concerns about its cost. Without an agreement over the program's scope in Congress, the program lapsed. Hawley said the new language compensates many more people, but at a far lower cost than previous legislation. 'These folks deserve to be recognized for the sacrifices they made and compensated when the government has poisoned them without telling them, without helping them, without making it right," Hawley said Friday. 'This is a chance, finally, to make it right.' Still, the new provision's pathway remains uncertain when the House considers the Senate's changes. While there is broad Senate support for the payments, it is unclear how the addition of Hawley's legislation will be received by cost-conscious Republicans as they barrel toward a self-imposed July 4 deadline for the overall tax bill. House leaders are waiting to see what comes out of the Senate before deciding whether they might make further changes or simply try to pass the Senate bill and send it to President Donald Trump's desk. St. Louis played a key role processing uranium as the United States developed a nuclear weapons program that was vital for winning World War II. But that effort exposed workers and nearby residents to radiation, with lingering issues remaining to this day. An elementary school was closed down a few years ago because of radioactive material found on site. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers remains years away from finishing environmental cleanup work. An investigation by The Associated Press, The Missouri Independent and MuckRock found the federal government and companies responsible for nuclear bomb production and atomic waste storage sites in the St. Louis area in the mid-20th century were aware of health risks, spills, improperly stored contaminants and other problems but often ignored them. Nuclear waste contaminated Coldwater Creek, and those who live nearby worry their cancers and other severe illnesses are connected. It's difficult to definitively link specific illnesses with the waste, but advocates for an expanded compensation program said there's evidence it made people sick years later. After the report by the AP and others, Hawley said sick St. Louis residents deserved help, too. He was joined by Dawn Chapman, co-founder of Just Moms STL, which brought attention to local nuclear contamination. She has called St. Louis a 'national sacrifice zone.' 'Many of us have had extreme amounts of devastation in the form of illnesses in our families,' Chapman said Friday. The provision added Thursday would also expand coverage areas in several states for those exposed to radioactive contamination that blew downwind from government sites. In New Mexico, for example, advocates have sought to expand the program for people near the spot where the first Manhattan Project-era bomb was tested. These residents didn't know the blast was why ash had fallen. It poised water, crops and livestock. Attention for these 'downwinders' rose following the release of the film Oppenheimer. 'Our federal government has a moral responsibility to support Americans that helped defend our country — and it has a moral responsibility to include all people who were exposed. That begins with reauthorizing RECA and amending it to include those who have been left out for far too long,' said Sen. Martin Heinrich, Democrat of New Mexico. Prior to the addition of the radiation compensation measure, Hawley had so far withheld support for the overall tax package, questioning cuts to Medicaid programs and the potential effects on rural hospitals and low income residents. He said he still wants to see improvements in the package, but added that help for radiation victims was essential. 'It would be very hard for me to vote for a bill that doesn't include (the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act). This is extremely, extremely important to me," Hawley said. ___
