Congressman Garcia boldly points out Elon Musk’s attack against working families

Congressman Robert Garcia (D-42 Long Beach) has been scrutinizing DOGE attacks against the social safety net of Americans. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) subcommittee, led by the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, is investigating what he calls  “hundreds of billions” of dollars wasted annually. DOGE was created by one of President Trump’s many recent executive orders. 

Garcia is a member of the House Oversight Committee, which has several subcommittees, one of them overseeing DOGE.

He openly opposes DOGE’s plan to shut down the Departments of Education and Labor, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the attacks against Medicare and Medicaid. 

On Saturday he joined the Teachers Association of Long Beach (TALB) and a coalition of community leaders and labor groups to push back against federal education cuts. 

During the conference, he said the dismantling of the Department of Education could lead to larger class sizes and teachers layoffs and could leave children with disabilities severely affected. 

Pointing out Musk’s attacks on society

On Wednesday, DOGE held its first hearing, and Garcia slammed Musk, saying the world’s richest man has conflicts of interest with the federal government for leading a power grab against democracy. 

In a clever move, he reminded people that in the last congressional session, current DOGE Chairwoman, Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, showed a “dick pic” during an oversight congressional hearing. It was an explicit photo of Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden. 

“So I thought I'd bring one as well,” Garcia said as he showed the photo of Musk and called him “President Elon Musk.”

Garcia said that DOGE is willing to empower the wealthiest person in the world by supposedly saving money that will eventually go to them, their companies and their billionaire friends while ordinary Americans are hurting. 

“That is the attack happening in this committee and across this country, and it’s important that we call it out,” said Garcia.

Entities at stake 

Garcia listed the critical departments and agencies that Musk wants to dismantle and called it a horrific act. He said the social safety net is in danger because Musk plans to eliminate the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 

“Healthcare. We're talking about [it] being denied to millions of poor people, working-class people across this country, and now, of course, on to their largest target, the U.S. Social Security Administration,” said Garcia.

Garcia said one in five Americans collects Social Security and DOGE could harm the social safety net.

Garcia co-sponsored the Social Security 2100 Act, which comprehensively strengthens and expands Social Security for all Americans, and the Social Security Fairness Act, which ensures millions of public servants get the full benefits they worked hard to earn. The latter became law under President Biden.

The NIH's dismantling could prevent the continuation of medical research, and terminating the Department of Labor could end workers’ protections. If eliminated, workers won’t have a place to complain about abuses from their companies or employers. 

Also, if the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau disappears, scammers and fraudsters will be more empowered, leaving consumers vulnerable. 

Lastly, Garcia accused Musk of sending unqualified DOGE staff to carry his agenda.

"In some cases actually, teenage staffers. No accountability, no experience and problematic records,” said Garcia. “They’re trying to rob you, and they’re probably a minor.”