Rep. Chip Roy, a Texas Republican and member of the ultraconservative Freedom Caucus, made an appearance on CNBC Friday to praise billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy for pushing for cuts to government spending. He said the pair would be helpful in future efforts to cut the social safety net.
Donald Trump named Musk and Ramaswamy co-chairs of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an organization outside of the federal government meant to advocate for spending cuts.
During the “Squawk Box” segment on CNBC, Roy said he appreciated the role Musk and Ramaswamy played in the recent fight over legislation to fund the federal government.
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“When the DOGE guys came in, Elon and Vivek, I pointed to my Republican colleagues, and I said: ‘You know what the problem is? Right here in this room.’ Because we have Republicans and Democrats who never met a program they didn’t want to promote for some sort of political gain,” Roy said.
During the government funding process, Musk lobbied for the bill to be scrapped by asserting a series of falsehoods on his X account, which has millions of followers. After the controversy, Republicans proposed a bill that cut funding for pediatric cancer research and 9/11 first responders.
Roy said that, going forward, he believes that DOGE will have a significant impact on the legislative process by attacking government spending.
Specifically, Roy said that the federal government should exercise “restraint” in administering food stamp benefits, which are used by low-income families to purchase basic household needs. He also called for a repeal of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which put caps on the cost of prescription drugs and created incentives for companies to invest in clean energy and to hire American workers.
“We need to address Medicare and Social Security in the long haul,” Roy said, though he added that current benefits should not be affected. He also called for a “spending restraint on Medicaid,” a public health insurance program primarily used by low-income families.
Related story: Trump trashes GOP congressman over opposition to new spending bill
Roy’s comments echo fellow Republican Rep. Mark Alford of Missouri, who said in a recent interview that there should be cuts to Social Security and Medicare to meet the goals of DOGE.
As he campaigned for Trump leading up to the election, Musk said that the government needed to cut spending and that hardship for millions of Americans was a necessary byproduct.
“We have to reduce spending to live within our means,” he said. “That necessarily involves some temporary hardship, but it will ensure long-term prosperity.”
At a net worth of more than $436 billion, Musk is the wealthiest man in the world. So at least he won’t be feeling the hardship of spending cuts that he, DOGE, and other Republicans are pushing.
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