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In private discussions with Republican lawmakers this week, the billionaire tech mogul insisted that the widespread dismissals of federal employees, including veterans, were decisions made by individual agencies—not by him. His remarks come as he leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in its mission to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal system.
Musk
, a close adviser to President Donald Trump, enjoys strong Republican backing for his work at DOGE. However, as job cuts ripple through communities nationwide, GOP lawmakers are facing backlash and pressing him for answers.
"Elon doesn’t fire people," said Rep.
Richard Hudson
, R-N.C., after a closed-door meeting with Musk in the Capitol’s basement. "He doesn’t have hiring and firing authority. The president's empowered him to go uncover this information, that’s it."
Trump signals caution, but backs Musk's role
The Republican president weighed in on Thursday, urging agency heads to be meticulous in their decisions. "Be very precise" about who stays or goes, Trump posted on social media, advocating a "scalpel rather than the hatchet" approach.
"I don’t want to see a big cut where a lot of good people are cut," Trump later told reporters in the Oval Office.
While Trump maintained that agency leaders would lead the process, he also suggested Musk could intervene more forcefully if necessary. "If they can cut, it’s better. And if they don’t cut, then Elon will do the cutting."
Trump also announced that Musk and Cabinet officials would meet every two weeks to advance cost-cutting initiatives.
Legal challenges mount as job cuts escalate
Musk’s role in reshaping the federal workforce is facing mounting legal scrutiny. Lawsuits are piling up over his aggressive push to consolidate government management and sidestep congressional authority over federal spending.
One key dispute involves the White House’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which instructed agencies to fire probationary workers who lack full civil service protection. The sweeping dismissals led to abrupt staff reductions, some of which were later reversed—such as the reinstatement of workers in nuclear weapons programs.
A federal judge in San Francisco raised concerns about the legality of these mass terminations, prompting the administration to shift blame to individual agencies rather than Musk or the OPM.
"Some of the folks that were the probationary people, he didn’t fire them, they were actually supposedly fired by the agencies — and they messed up," said Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla.
Asked whether Musk himself used the phrase "they messed up," Gimenez clarified: "Well, if they were in fact, you know, critical people, and the agency did the firing, then yeah, they messed up. But not him."
Musk’s influence rattles Washington
Musk and his team have embedded themselves deep within federal agencies, gaining access to sensitive data and challenging long-standing bureaucratic structures. Their aggressive approach has unnerved career officials, with top executives—such as those at the Social Security Administration—resigning rather than complying with Musk’s demands.
The billionaire appears unfazed by the upheaval. "We're making good progress," he remarked as he moved swiftly through the halls of Congress late Wednesday.
Musk’s reputation as a risk-taking visionary is well established through his ventures, including SpaceX, Tesla, and social media platform X. But his leadership at DOGE represents his first direct foray into government operations—where political backlash is unavoidable.
During a Senate lunch discussion, Musk was quick to distance himself from the firings.
"I would say that there was an argument that that’s not coming from DOGE, it’s actually coming from individual agencies," said Sen.
Rand Paul
, R-Ky.
Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., went further, suggesting Musk believed some agencies mishandled the process deliberately. "The point that he was making is that DOGE had not made recommendations for across-the-board cuts of all probationary employees at every agency," Barr said.
Instead, he suggested that some agencies "implemented it improperly through either incompetence or in a handful of cases actual malicious efforts to sabotage and create a public relations problem for DOGE."
Some workers reinstated amid growing backlash
Amid the fallout, some federal agencies are walking back job cuts. This week, about 180 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were informed they could return to work. Their recall email carried an urgent subject line: "Read this email immediately."
Musk was invited to Capitol Hill by Trump’s allies and GOP leaders to address lawmakers facing tough questions about the DOGE layoffs. With Republican lawmakers feeling the heat at town halls back home, House Speaker
Mike Johnson
, R-La., advised them to engage with constituents in less confrontational settings.
To improve communication, Musk provided his personal phone number—to senators, but not to House members. His team is also setting up a dedicated phone line where lawmakers can raise concerns or offer input on which jobs and agencies should be spared.
Democrats sound the alarm
Democrats and advocacy groups are warning that the sweeping cuts could have devastating consequences for ordinary Americans.
On Thursday, 141 House Democrats, led by Rep. Gerald Connolly of Virginia, wrote to the acting director of the OPM, urging the reinstatement of all unlawfully terminated probationary employees.
"Indiscriminately firing thousands of these employees threatens the future of the nonpartisan federal workforce and our government’s ability to deliver life-saving services to the American people," the letter read.
House Democratic Leader
Hakeem Jeffries
issued a challenge to Republicans: if they want to dismantle federal agencies, they should bring it to Congress.
"We welcome that fight," Jeffries said. "We’ll stand on the side of the American people, and (Republicans will) continue to stand on the side of Elon Musk."
