But in the new Trump age, such arguments have fallen to Steve Bannon. A vicious operator with a populist streak, Bannon is reviled by almost everyone on the left for his conspiracymongering and furious support of Trump.

Dangerous Oligarchs Grab Everything”, read one sign satirising Doge – the new, Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency – at a downtown Washington, DC protest against the Trump administration’s aggressive efforts to reduce the size and expense of the US federal bureaucracy.

For now, Trump appears happy to allow Musk to take the heat. Speaking to reporters this week, Trump said Musk was acting with the “approval” of the White House. He also made clear that Musk was leading the charge on the administration’s most aggressive efforts to slash the federal government.

The official reason for Wednesday's DOGE subcommittee hearing was to examine improper payments and fraud. In practice, it was mostly about Elon Musk.

Democrats are turning their attention to the richest man in the world as a way to target Republicans and win back key voter groups.

The whole point of the Musk operation is transparency and efficiency in spending taxpayer dollars. Elon Musk is here to stay. And Democrats will just have to deal with it.

Democrats on the U.S. House oversight committee on Thursday called for an investigation of potential national security threats posed by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.

Independent Women's Forum's Patrice Onwuka on President Donald Trump's calls for the Fed to lower interest rates and Democrats attacking Elon Musk at the first DOGE subcommittee hearing.