{"id":2410228,"date":"2025-03-05T18:21:01","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T23:21:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/musk-tries-to-smooth-over-tensions-with-republicans-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-03-05T18:24:08","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T23:24:08","slug":"musk-tries-to-smooth-over-tensions-with-republicans-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/musk-tries-to-smooth-over-tensions-with-republicans-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Musk tries to smooth over tensions with Republicans &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmusk-tries-to-smooth-over-tensions-with-republicans-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2410228&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Elon Musk recently met\u200d with congressional Republicans to address concerns related to his role in \u2064cutting federal\u200c workers and government\u2063 spending through the Department of \u200dGovernment Efficiency \u200d(DOGE). \u200dDuring \u2062a private lunch, Republican senators urged Musk to \u200csubmit a recissions package to\u2063 formally codify these spending cuts into law. Some Republicans have expressed apprehension about the governance&#8217;s approach to unilaterally\u200d dismantling programs without proper legislative backing. Senator Rand Paul highlighted the need for such a package \u200cto make spending cuts &#8220;real and permanent.&#8221; though no specific figures were discussed\u200c regarding potential cuts, they coudl reach into the hundreds of billions. Musk appeared \u200copen \u2063to the idea of the recissions package, which requires only \u200ba\u2064 simple majority \u200cto pass.\u200b This meeting comes\u200c amid frustration among Republicans over DOGE&#8217;s operations,\u200b which have caused confusion \u200dand sparked significant layoffs. Musk has promised better dialog with lawmakers moving forward.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Musk tries to smooth over tensions with Congress amid push to put DOGE cuts into law<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2028741\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Billionaire tech icon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/elon-musk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Elon Musk\">Elon Musk<\/a> sought to smooth over rough edges with GOP lawmakers Wednesday as he met with congressional Republicans about his role in slashing federal workers and government spending at the helm of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3337375\/trump-shouts-out-elon-musk-doge-head-roaring-congressional-crowd\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Department of Government Efficiency<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>During a private lunch, Republican senators pressed the Trump confidant to send Congress the cuts made by DOGE in the form of a recissions package so they can be codified into law, according to those in attendance.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3337511\/john-fetterman-democratic-protest-trump-speech\/\">Fetterman bemoans Democratic protest during Trump speech: &#8216;Sad cavalcade of self owns&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3338279\/trump-joint-address-senate-gop-chips-act\/\">Trump catches Senate GOP off-guard with call to end CHIPS Act<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3337970\/senate-congressional-review-act-repeal-biden-crypto-regulation\/\">Senate uses seldom successful method to repeal Biden-era crypto regulation<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Some Republicans have expressed concern over the administration&rsquo;s attempts to unilaterally dismantle agencies, programs, and contracts by revoking funds Congress already appropriated.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), a fiscal hawk who pressed Musk for a recissions package, said such a move was the only way to render any spending cuts &ldquo;real and permanent.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a disconnect here, that people think, &lsquo;Oh my goodness, Elon&rsquo;s cutting foreign aid. We&rsquo;re not going to spend this on crazy stuff,&rsquo;&rdquo; Paul told reporters. &ldquo;And yet, come March 14 &mdash; I&rsquo;m not voting for it, but the rest of [Republicans] are going to vote to continue spending at the same level on foreign aid.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Musk and senators did not land on a topline figure for what DOGE cuts could amount to, but Paul estimated it could ultimately be in the &ldquo;hundreds of billions.&rdquo; Musk&rsquo;s DOGE has faced scrutiny for saying it&rsquo;s saved taxpayers tens of billions of dollars despite accounting errors and removing line items without decreasing its total figure.<\/p>\n<p>Musk was receptive to a recissions package, according to Paul and other senators in the room. The package would only require a simple majority to pass.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Elon Musk departs the Capitol following a meeting with Senate Republicans in Washington, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said Musk went so far as to urge congressional action in the wake of the Supreme Court earlier that day. He rejected the Trump administration&rsquo;s bid to avoid paying $2 billion to contractors who already performed work for the now-defunct U.S. Agency for International Development.<\/p>\n<p>Musk was set to also meet with House Republicans on Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3315975\/doge-doing-across-federal-government\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>TRACKING WHAT DOGE IS DOING ACROSS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>His trip to Capitol Hill came amid increasing heartburn from congressional Republicans over DOGE&rsquo;s overhauling of the federal government, particularly mass layoffs, cuts, and canceled contracts that have sparked widespread confusion among lawmakers. Republicans have expressed frustration over the inability to get answers from Musk and others at the White House on DOGE&rsquo;s actions, which has prompted him to reportedly hand out his cellphone number to senators and pledge to establish other communication avenues for lawmakers to reach DOGE officials.<\/p>\n<p>Musk and the White House are aware that the lack of communication is &ldquo;a big concern they&rsquo;re trying to fix,&rdquo; according to Hawley.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2028741\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2028741\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Musk aims to ease tensions with Congress over DOGE cuts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3108,"featured_media":2410229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/elon-musk-ease-tensions-gop.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2410228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/elon-musk-ease-tensions-gop.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2410228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2410228"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2410228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2410231,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2410228\/revisions\/2410231"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2410229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2410228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2410228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2410228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}