The House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing on Tuesday was slated to discuss billions of dollars in government waste identified by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), but first devolved into chaos when one Democrat repeatedly referred to the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as “President Musk” and to President Donald Trump as the “grifter in chief.”
Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., kicked off the hearing by accusing Democrats of declining to participate with Republicans in their oversight plan.
“Instead of working together that the Democrats informed us that they have amendments to the plan but are refusing to discuss them with me in advance. They kept any changes. They wanted a secret,” Comer said in opening remarks. “Democrats have rejected every opportunity offered to contribute to the oversight plan. So how am I supposed to incorporate secret opinions that they refuse to share? You may be asking yourself, ‘Why would the Democrats do that?’ Democrats say they want to participate in oversight, but if that were true, why would they decline multiple opportunities to actually engage in the plan for that oversight? Because they don’t want to participate. They want to stonewall and engage in theater.”
Comer further charged that Democrats “would rather hear themselves talk about President Trump and the evil Elon Musk than work together on actual oversight that the American people are demanding,” adding that polling this week suggests “the American people overwhelmingly support the work President Trump and DOGE are doing.”
Ranking Member Gerry Connolly, D-Va., shot back, criticizing the Republicans’ oversight plan over what he deemed leniency toward the Trump administration.
“The sins of omission in this plan are damning,” Connolly contended. “My amendment would restore the committee’s proper role as a watchdog, not a lapdog.”