WASHINGTON (NewsNation) — The Delivering on Government Efficiency subcommittee, led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., will hold its first hearing Wednesday as Congress begins working with the White House on President Donald Trump’s plan to reshape the federal government.
The new House subcommittee, a partner to billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, could be a crucial legislative tool for Trump’s agenda. Greene, who met with Musk and Trump on Monday, said Wednesday’s hearing will launch “a war on waste.”
The hearing, fully titled “The War on Waste: Stamping Out the Scourge of Improper Payments and Fraud,” will feature testimony from a former FBI agent and the director of the United Council on Welfare Fraud. It comes as Democrats and some government workers are protesting massive cuts to the federal workforce and Musk’s influence in the White House.
Who is running DOGE with Elon Musk?
“DOGE subcommittee members will work with expert witnesses to examine how Congress can assist the president in the effort to stamp out improper payments and fraud,” Greene said in a news release.
Trump: DOGE has found ‘tremendous’ fraud
The hearing follows Trump’s claims that DOGE has uncovered tens of billions of dollars in fraud and abuse, blaming bad government contracts.
“We’re finding tremendous fraud and tremendous abuse. If I need a vote of Congress to find fraud and abuse, it’s fine by me. I think we’ll get the vote,” Trump said while speaking to reporters Tuesday alongside Musk in the Oval Office.
Musk added, “The people voted for major government reform, and that’s what the people are going to get. They’re going to get what they voted for.”
Trump’s executive order limits new hires
As the White House looks to buy out nearly 2 million federal government employees, Trump is limiting federal agencies to hiring one worker for every four who leave.
The deadline for federal employees to accept a buyout offer was extended indefinitely Monday as a lawsuit to block the plan continues in court.
House Oversight Committee announces ‘disclosure’ task force
The Office of Personnel Management has offered federal workers who resign pay and benefits through September. The White House has called the offer “generous” and reported that more than 65,000 workers, about 2.5% of the federal civilian workforce, have accepted the buyout.
The buyout is part of Trump’s aim to reduce the federal workforce and aligns with plans to cut staffing for U.S. aid projects worldwide as part of the administration’s efforts to dismantle USAID.
Democrats question legality of DOGE actions
Democrats have continued to question the legality of DOGE’s actions, including spending cuts and the downsizing of the federal workforce.
The moves have sparked protests in Washington, D.C., where thousands of American Federation of Government Workers union members and supporters rallied outside the Capitol, with some holding signs and chanting against Trump and Musk.
