Four years after being completely stripped of her committee assignments, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is spearheading one of the most high-profile subcommittees in Congress.
The Georgia Republican, who chairs the House Oversight Committee’s DOGE subcommittee, argues Elon Musk’s idea for the Department of Government Efficiency is the top interest of not only Republicans in Washington but everyday Americans.
“This has become the number one topic across the country,” Greene told us. “It is the hottest topic and people are so engaged with us.”
Greene’s panel will hold its first hearing today, focusing on improper payments made by the federal government.
Greene, who met with Musk at the White House earlier this week, said today’s hearing should be a topic that’s “easy to be bipartisan” on and is timely ahead of when people begin filing taxes.
Hill Democrats have a dramatically different view of DOGE after its efforts to dismantle federal agencies, including USAID and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, so bipartisanship will be hard to achieve.
Greene said she’ll unveil an action plan in the days ahead with a series of legislative proposals to curtail government waste. She said the Republican Party’s full control of Washington gives it a chance to get results.
“We’re really tired of having hearings where it’s a bunch of talking and information comes out and nothing changes,” Greene said. “This is going to be a different opportunity that we have.”
Legislator or bomb thrower? Greene’s holding of the gavel is a remarkable turn of events from when she arrived in Congress four years ago. And it is emblematic of how much the GOP has come to fully embrace President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement and its most ardent promoters.
But leading a high-profile subcommittee is also a test for Greene. Her congressional career has been marked by controversial comments and policy stances. Democrats stripped her of committee assignments in 2021, arguing she had made threatening and bigoted remarks and was unfit to serve.
Greene said there’s been a shift in Washington since she arrived in 2021. Greene said her Republican colleagues are starting to come around to her way of seeing things.
“I came into Congress being vocally against everything happening here, and I’ve been proven right,” she said. “I wouldn’t say that I’ve changed. I would say it’s the House that’s changed and they figured out I am a person who takes [this] seriously because the people do and so does President Trump.”
Dems’ view: We recently wrote that moderate Democrats who were initially interested in making DOGE a bipartisan cause have soured on the effort.
“Over the last three weeks, we’ve seen how Donald Trump and Elon Musk have systemically dismantled our federal agencies and acted lawlessly,” said Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), the subcommittee’s ranking member.
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), who sits on the panel, told us he wants Democrats to match Greene’s bombastic energy when it comes to pushing back on DOGE.
“We can’t go in and expect [Greene] to act proper and have decorum,” he said. “That’s not going to work. She doesn’t work that way.”
Also: The AFL-CIO will submit written testimony for today’s hearing condemning Musk’s DOGE efforts and raising concerns about his potential access to private information. Here’s the full statement.
