Jim Jordan backs Elon Musk’s authority to cut federal government

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) vehemently defended Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency’s campaign to slash federal spending — and declined to endorse the idea that Musk was stepping on Congress' power of the purse.

“It's interesting,” Jordan said on CNN’s “Inside Politics” on Sunday. “No one wants to defend the waste, fraud and abuse, so they attack the guy who's exposing all the waste, fraud and ridiculous things we're spending money on.”

Over the past few weeks, Musk and the DOGE team have zeroed in on the Trump administration’s mission to overhaul federal agencies and reduce staff. Entities like the United States Agency for International Development and Department of Education have been DOGE’s main targets, with Musk referring to USAID as a “criminal organization” on X.

The Trump administration ordered forced administrative leave for over 2,000 employees of the foreign aid agency last week, though a judge issued a temporary block on Friday of the action. Trump has since said he ordered DOGE to look into spending at the Education Department and the Defense Department on Friday.

When pushed by host Manu Raju as to whether Musk should wield so much power, Jordan doubled down on his defense: ”The folks who work for DOGE are federal employees carrying out the will of the executive branch leader, the president of the United States,” he said.

Spending authority in the Constitution (Article 1, Section 7, clause 1) originates with the House. Pressing the issue of legal authority further, Raju asked Jordan: “So, you're comfortable if he shuts those down without getting congressional approval?”

“Well, Congress will be involved at some point,” said Jordan, the current chair of the House Judiciary Committee.

In reaction to North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer’s comments about the need for guardrails on Musk, Jordan said “I think the guardrails are you all in the press who are talking about it every day.”

He added: “I do think what Elon and his team are doing, at the request, at the urging of the president — and it's something that he campaigned on. And It's something that people evaluated and voted for on November 5.”

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