Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs Laughter broke out from Democrats in the House chamber on Tuesday as President Donald Trump said that “unelected bureaucrats” no longer control the government.Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email.The ContextTrump’s comments were delivered after he gave a shoutout to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who was not elected to office, for spearheading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Elon Musk cheers at President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 4 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Elon Musk cheers at President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 4 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
What To Know”It’s very simple,” Trump said during a speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday evening. “And the days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over.”Immediately afterward, laughter erupted throughout the chamber and some Democratic lawmakers were seen pointing at Musk as they laughed. Democratic Representative Jim Clyburn of South Carolina was at one point seen smirking with his head in his hand.Republicans stood up and applauded Trump’s remark. Watch the moment below:
The president introduced Musk earlier in his speech as the man who “headed” DOGE.Musk’s DOGE has carried out sweeping cuts to the federal workforce since Trump took office for his second term, through laying off probationary workers—meaning those who don’t have civil service protections—and offering “deferred resignations” to almost the entire remainder of government employees.But the White House has tried to build distance between Musk and DOGE since the task force was hit with multiple lawsuits accusing it of running afoul of federal laws by shutting down congressionally approved agencies and attempting to fire tens of thousands of civil service workers.Amid those lawsuits, the White House said in a recent court filing that Musk was not the head of DOGE, despite what Trump and other administration officials said in the weeks before.”Like other senior White House advisors, Mr. Musk has no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself,” read the filing.The filing also said that Musk was not an employee of the U.S. DOGE Service, or the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization and added: “Mr. Musk is not the U.S. DOGE Service Administrator.”The White House said last week that Amy Gleason is the acting DOGE administrator, an assertion Trump appeared to undercut on Tuesday when he said Musk “headed” up the task force.What People Are SayingDemocratic Representative Chuy Garcia wrote on X, alongside a photo of Musk: “Unelected bureaucrats.”Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote on X: “I agree with Donald Trump that an unelected bureaucrat should be fired. Let’s start with Elon Musk.”Representative Pramila Jayapal, chair emerita of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, chimed in on X: “Trump: ‘The days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over.’ What about unelected billionaire shadow president, Elon Musk?”What Happens NextDOGE has continued slashing the government workforce even as it faces a slew of lawsuits over its authority and the scope of Musk’s role. Earlier Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that the IRS is planning to cut its workforce by roughly half, equating to 90,000 employees.
