FILE - Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., gestures while addressing a gathering during a campaign stop, Jan. 18, 2024, in Manchester, N.H. Phillips ended his long-shot 2024 Democratic presidential bid on Wednesday after failing to win a primary contest against President Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File) AP

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.

"Well, he is a dick," Rep. Robert Garcia explained to CNN's Brianna Keilar, adding that the manchild mogul is "harming the American public in an enormous way."