Representative Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) spoke at a press conference just outside the Capitol on Tuesday and defended President Donald Trump (R) and Elon Musk's aggressive Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative.
Musk and his DOGE team made headlines this week when they sent an email to government employees demanding they respond with five examples of what they accomplished at their job last week. Failure to respond to the email would be considered a resignation by the employee.
Some have criticized Musk's tactic, while Republicans such as Rep. Van Duyne hold the view that government employees, such as herself, should be held accountable. She also vowed for Musk in his role as an advisor to President Trump.
"I'm having a hard time understanding why people are upset that Elon Musk is not elected," began Rep. Van Duyne. "All the bureaucrats in government are unelected. They're the ones who are writing the regulations. Elon Musk is merely an advisor to the president. He has given some advice to the President, saying these are the things that we are finding that we are covering at breakneck speed. That's it. And presidents throughout history have had advisors. I don't think that that's a problem. I think the problem is, is that the American people and federal workers have gotten so complacent with the government not doing anything."
The Texas congresswoman continued, sharing that the Trump administration keeping its campaign promises shouldn't shock anyone, but the notion that it does is troubling.
"The fact that you actually have somebody who ran for election saying, this is what we're going to do, getting in office, and actually doing it is such a shock to many. And we've got federal employees who are being asked to say, what did you do last week? I'll tell you ... If anybody asked me what I did last week, I have - since I got elected - I have been passing out, emailing a newsletter," said Rep. Van Duyne. "Go to my website. You can find out exactly what I do on a day-to-day basis. It is not beneath me to do that. I am accountable. I am accountable to my constituents. I am accountable to [the] American people, because we are getting taxpayer dollars to do this role. We have a job to do, we should not be ashamed of telling people what we're doing. It should not be a shock to the system."
Later in Van Duyne's remarks, the representative mentioned that the DOGE initiative is moving at such fast speeds because President Trump had four years to prepare for it.
"And to think that this was like a split second, 'oh, you're doing it so fast,'" said Van Duyne. "I will keep in mind this is a president who has already served four years in office, had four years to look at what all the various abuses were in our federal bureaucracy ... He then had another four years to put together an experienced team that was ready to execute on those promises and that is exactly what you're seeing."
Beth Van Duyne represents Texas' 24th Congressional District.
