Senate Republicans defended the Trump administration’s sweeping revamp of USAID, led by Elon Musk.
“In terms of any decisions made, those are made by the president or the secretary,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told ABC News.
Other GOP lawmakers defended the administration’s decision to gut a congressionally appropriated agency.
Sen. Thom Tillis R-N.C., told ABC News he doesn’t have any concerns about Musk’s role in the federal government.
If it goes too far I’ll be the first person to step up he went too far,” Tillis added.
Republicans in the Senate defended Elon Musk’s comprehensive overhaul of USAID under the Trump administration. However, some lawmakers attempted to minimize the billionaire’s influence over the president.
According to Sen., “the president or the secretary make all decisions.”. Hawley Josh, R-Mo. told ABC News. “It’s okay if Musk wishes to offer suggestions or go out and say, ‘We actually should cancel this and that.'”. “,”.
The administration’s choice to dismantle a congressionally appropriated agency was defended by other Republican lawmakers.
Sen said, “I hear your question, but you need to call somebody who cares.” He was addressing his Democratic friends and the tofu-eating “wokerati” inside USAID. Louisiana’s John Kennedy told reporters.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N. C. stated to ABC News that Musk’s involvement in the federal government doesn’t worry him.
Everyone acts as though Congress has vanished. He asserted that in order to truly structurally alter many of the ideas he is considering, congressional approval is needed, and that reporters are questioning “the old way of doing things.”. “,”.
“Oversight exists. He went too far, and I’ll be the first to step up if it gets out of control,” Tillis continued.
Lalee Ibssa, Isabella Murray, Allison Pecorin, Rachel Scott, and Jay O’Brien of ABC News.
A group of FBI agents who assisted in criminal investigations stemming from the Jan. six attack on the U.S. S. To prevent the Justice Department from compiling lists of agents for possible disciplinary actions or terminations, Capitol filed a lawsuit on Tuesday.
the anonymous class-action lawsuit that the D.C agents filed. federal court, along with screenshots of the survey they sent this week regarding their Jan-related actions. Six instances.
“The defendants are FBI staff members who worked on Jan. 6 and/or Mar-a-Lago cases, and who have been notified that their employment will probably be terminated for such activity “soon as the week of February 3-9, 2025 comes around,” the lawsuit stated. They plan to represent a class of at least 6,000 FBI agents and staff members, both current and former, who were involved in some way in the investigation and prosecution of crimes and abuses of power committed by Donald Trump or by those working under his direction. “.
In particular, the lawsuit aims to prevent the DOJ from “collecting, storing, reporting, publishing, or disseminating any list or compilation of data that would identify FBI agents and other personnel, and link them directly to Jan.”. 6 and case activities in Mar-a-Lago. “.
-Aaron Katersky, Pierre Thomas, and Alexander Mallin of ABC News.