As Democrats lob claims that President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are a potential national security threat, Republicans are calling them out for what they perceive as hypocrisy after years of weak immigration and foreign policies.
"Being lectured by the Democrats on national security is pretty rich after they spent the last four years sending billions of taxpayer dollars to terrorists, letting suspected terrorists walk through our wide-open southern border and disgracefully retreating from Afghanistan, empowering Iran and kicking off the most destabilizing foreign policy paradigm in a generation," Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., told Fox News Digital.
Democrats, led by Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, recently pressed White House chief of staff Susie Wiles over their "grave concern" that Musk and DOGE were illegally risking "exposure of classified and other sensitive information that jeopardizes national security and violates Americans’ privacy."
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Republicans slammed Democrats' claims that DOGE's actions potentially threatened U.S. national security. (Getty Images)
One GOP Senate leadership aide remarked to Fox News Digital that it was "absurd" to suggest cutting wasteful spending through DOGE amounts to a security threat.
"This is the Russia hoax all over again, with an attempt to scare Americans by making preposterous claims that Elon Musk is going to steal their identity," the aide said.
Sheehy added in his response, "America is lucky to have President Trump, Elon and DOGE working to restore accountability and fix our government. Perhaps the Dems should just say ‘thank you’ for cleaning up their mess."
Warner wrote to Wiles that "unauthorized access to classified information risks exposure of our operations and potentially compromises not only our own sources and methods, but also those of our allies and partners. If our sources, allies, and partners stop sharing intelligence because they cannot trust us to protect it, we will all be less safe."
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Elon Musk speaks during an event in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump at the White House Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Images)
The Democratic letter was sent amid uproar over Musk and DOGE's shake-up of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), followed by other agencies and departments in the executive branch.
As DOGE has pressed on with the effort, Musk has revealed expenditures considered wasteful and the amount of contracts he is instructing agencies to cancel.
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Intel Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., pushed back on those claims by his Democratic counterparts, writing on X, "The reaction from the Dem and media to DOGE conducting audits and cutting waste has been downright hysterical. It's reminiscent of the Russia collusion hoax — a sad and dishonest attempt to scare Americans."
The Senate GOP leadership aide said, "Senate Republicans are going to keep supporting this crucial work" through DOGE.
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While DOGE continues to scrutinize spending, courts across the country have begun to issue rulings and injunctions limiting the agency's ability.
Trump and Musk have hit several judicial roadblocks, from a temporary halt to DOGE access to Treasury systems and a restraining order on attempts to shut down USAID.
