Elon Musk’s overnight ascendency to the Executive Branch doesn’t seem to bother his Republican allies who were actually elected.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared nonplussed by the incredible grip that the world’s richest man-turned-bureaucrat has over federal agencies.
“Is there an inconsistency by Republicans on one hand where we for years have not wanted ‘unelected bureaucrats’ downtown and yet ceding Article One powers to the executive branch under Elon Musk?” asked Fox News’s Chad Pergram.
“No, look, I’ve got to challenge the premise of the question, and you know me, I’m a fierce advocate and defender of Article One,” Johnson responded, referring to the Constitutional article that established Congress. “We’re going to vigorously defend that.”
“But I think there’s a gross overreaction in the media to what’s happening,” Johnson continued. “The executive branch of government in our system has the right to evaluate how executive branch agencies are operating and to ensure that not only the intent of Congress in funding mechanisms, but also the stewardship of precious American taxpayer dollars is being handled well. That’s what they’re doing by putting a pause on some of these agencies and by evaluating them, by doing these internal audits.”
The Trump administration’s decision to freeze the distribution of trillions of dollars in congressionally appropriated funds was blocked on Monday by a federal judge who deemed the effort grossly unconstitutional.
Johnson described the freeze and Musk’s other attempts to get government agencies as a “long overdue, much welcome development.” He insisted that the effort is “not a power grab” while claiming that the halted taxpayer funds were being used to fund drag shows in Colombia and atheism camps in Nepal.
“We see this as an active, engaged, committed executive branch authority doing what the executive branch should do,” Johnson said.
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