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Hearing Details Fallout From Musk-Backed DOGE Cuts as GOP Rift Deepens

Testimony depicts a short-lived downsizing drive that prioritized disruption over savings.

A woman walks past a closed entrance to the National Gallery of Art's sculpture garden during a US government shutdown on October 6, 2025, in Washington, DC.
Rep. Tim Burchett walks into the U.S. Capitol as the House votes on a funding bill to reopen the government on February 3, in Washington, DC.
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Rep. Tim Burchett speaks to members of the media on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on July 3, 2025.

Overview

  • Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee convened a hearing in Northern Virginia to document how the Department of Government Efficiency reshaped the federal workforce and operations.
  • The early 2025 push led by Elon Musk included dismantling USAID, canceling Voice of America, terminating thousands of grants and contracts, and the departure of more than 300,000 federal employees and contractors.
  • DOGE touts roughly $200 billion in initial savings, yet experts put the figure closer to $1 billion to $7 billion against the $2 trillion once promised.
  • Witnesses said DOGE was officially disbanded in November 2025 and noted Elon Musk’s exit, while moderates such as Sen. Lisa Murkowski described a marked reduction in agency-level chaos since then.
  • Fiscal conservatives fault GOP leaders for abandoning broad rescissions after passing only one bill with about $9 billion in cuts, with Rep. Thomas Massie and Rep. Tim Burchett publicly pressing for deeper reductions as leadership pivots to targeting alleged fraud in Democratic-led states.