Jake Tapper Asks ‘DOGE Caucus’ Democrat, ‘Why Are You Getting on Board To Support This?’
This week, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) became the first Democrat to join a new caucus that will ostensibly work with the “Department of Government Efficiency.”
President-elect Donald Trump appointed Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the advisory commission, which has no actual authority. The acronym “DOGE” is a nod to a nearly worthless cryptocurrency meme coin that Musk has repeatedly hyped. Meanwhile, members of the House of Representatives have formed a caucus dedicated to “DOGE,” or “Delivering on Outstanding Government Efficiency.”
Moskowitz appeared on Tuesday’s edition of The Lead on CNN.
“So, why are you getting on board to support this?” host Jake Tapper asked.
Moskowitz stated that most caucuses are bipartisan and important places to have conversations about pressing issues.
“I joined with a specific focus, because I’ve been working on for years, trying to get FEMA out of the Department of Homeland Security,” the lawmaker said. “I think the Department of Homeland Security was a great idea. I think it’s still necessary, but I think over the last 20 years, it’s become too big. And so, I think FEMA needs to be a direct report to the White House like it was when it was originally created. I think there’s evidence that Secret Service probably should come out of DHS and also be a direct report to the White House.”
He added that Musk and Ramaswamy will advance proposals that he will oppose.
“But we gotta go to where the conversations are happening,” Moskowitz went on. “The idea that we’re not gonna go to these places and just pretend the conversations aren’t happening is not a way to conduct business here.”
Tapper replied by hitting a skeptical note:
TAPPER: What makes you think that, if you think that, Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk might be might be good at this? I mean, obviously, Tesla and and Musk’s exploration of space are impressive. But when it came to trimming the fat out of Twitter, what he basically did is just open the door for Nazis and Hamas. So, you know, that might be a leaner operation at Twitter, but it’s also it also made Twitter kind of a cesspool.
MOSKOWITZ: Yeah, look, I’ve been a leader on that, sending letters to Elon about all the anti-Semitic comments, quite frankly, that I get towards me on Twitter. At the end of the day, I think everyone in Congress is of the position that government isn’t perfect. Right? So I’m looking for ways to improve government. I think the American people expect us to find ways to improve government, and in some places that may be shrinking the size of government. By the way, that used to be a Republican concept, but lately they want more government in bedrooms. And so, I’m looking to have this overall conversation. It’s why I joined the caucus, to go there and meet with my colleagues across the aisle. And Democrats shouldn’t fear this conversation. I think there are ways to improve government, and I’m looking to do that.
Watch above via CNN.
