Name: Employee or the boss? More Republicans 'nervous' about Trump's 'hatchet man' Musk
Uploaded: 2025-02-06T10:46:50.000Z
Duration: 12 min 16 s
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More pieces of the federal government on a chopping block.

But President Trump's hatchet man is facing increasing scrutiny himself as Elon Musk hacks away at the federal workforce with what appears to be no oversight.

Behind the scenes, Trump aides have had to remind Musk that he is in fact an employee, not the boss, and reports to the White House.

But that hasn't slowed down the downsizing.

The CIA is the latest agency offering buyouts to employees.

Agency for International Development, a key target of Trump's recent cutbacks, almost all staffers are being placed on administrative leave.

Joining us now, senior political correspondent for The Hill, Amy Parnes, along with two MSNBC political analysts, Republican strategist Susan DelPercio and Democratic strategist Basil Smykle.

Amy, as we're learning, our NBC team is reporting that 20,000 plus government employees have already indicated they're going to accept the buyout.

What are you hearing from people inside Washington about how they're looking at this right now?

I mean, I'm hearing from people inside these institutions.

No one knows what's happening, if they'll have a job, if they're going to be pushed out.

There's more nervousness even among Republicans.

They know that Trump came in to clear the swamp again, but they didn't know just how far he would go.

And I'm hearing that Republicans are getting a little bit nervous about how this is playing out, how Elon Musk is sort of dictating the terms.

And that's why you're seeing a lot of pushback.

You're starting to see a little more pushback from the White House and from Susie Wiles and other people, you know, basically saying he is not the boss.

He's here to help clear the swamp, but he's not in charge of it.

You said the CIA cutbacks in particular, the buyouts for all these CIA agents is particularly alarming.

It is alarming because it came right on the same day as this announcement the president made about Gaza.

And so I'm hearing from people inside that institution, and they're saying, what is happening?

You can't put a price tag on institutional knowledge.

And the fact that all this chaos is brewing inside that institution is really problematic right at this moment.

Susan, Republicans fashion themselves as the party of national security, back in the blue, for example.

But they do seem to be looking the other way to a degree when it comes to what we're seeing at the CIA or within the FBI, the purge there.

And of course, can't forget the blanket pardons of all the January 6th convicted people.

So are you surprised that this is how the GOP is reacting?

No, because I think they're trying to follow it as much as anyone else, and they don't know which way to step is the bigger concern for them.

So the buyout, that's different than the purges and the administrative leaves.

The buyout is simply to federal employees.

If you announce your intentions by this week.

Now, of course, if I was an employee, I would very much wonder, how are you going to pay me through September?

I wouldn't take the buyout because I don't think Trump can deliver on it.

That being aside, putting the purge and the CIA issues or employees at issue, bigger concern is what's not getting done.

To me, it's not just the institutional knowledge, which is critical, but that means you don't have agents on the ground.

You know how long it takes to be a well-trained CIA agent?

I don't know, but I can imagine it takes a lot of experience.  You just don't put them through the academy for three months.

So what violent crimes aren't being tracked by the FBI?

That is the public safety risk that I see with a lot of that, on top of the uncertainty of a workforce that doesn't know if they're coming or going.

And frankly, I don't think the administration knows if they're coming or going, because they have to reverse themselves left and right.

And that's when you take a look at somebody like Marco Rubio, who's now the Secretary of State.

He was confirmed unanimously to that position.

He's now overseeing the dismantling of USAID.

And that's become the face, it seems, of the government purges that Democrats are saying are unconstitutional, by the way.

If you remember, throughout last year, there was a lot of conversation on the left about being mindful of the impact of Project 2025.

And what you're seeing is the impact of not just disruptive politics, but destructive governance.

That's what I think a lot of Republicans, particularly in the Senate, don't want to have to deal with, because they can't answer questions from their constituents about what's happening tomorrow.

And you have someone like an Elon Musk, who is perhaps appointed, whatever that term means to Donald Trump, to be able to go in and do this.

In another country, this would be called a coup.

And he's going through with a team of people who are also not accountable into people's emails, into payment systems, without care and concern, seemingly, for the impact, the short- and long-term impact of this.

Where has this ever really happened in our history?

And if I'm a Republican right now, particularly in the House, that has the second slimmest, the Republicans have the second slimmest majority in the history of this country, I'd be really concerned.

Well, yet, at the same time, the Republicans are probably thinking, oh, you have blame it on Elon Musk cutting things.

They're getting part of their agenda done, and they don't have to do it through legislation, which means they don't have to take bad votes.

And I think my point was that somebody like Marco Rubio, who they all thought would kind of hold the line and be more traditional in his role, is going along with what the Trump administration wants hook, line, and sinker, it seems.

Democrats are expressing frustration, though, Amy.

Here's some fiery remarks from their protests yesterday outside the Treasury Department.

This is the most corrupt bargain we've ever seen in American history.

We have got to tell Elon Musk, nobody elected your ass.

We don't pledge allegiance to the creepy 22-year-olds working for Elon Musk.

We are gonna be in your face, we are gonna be on your asses, and we are gonna make sure...

We are gonna make sure you understand what democracy looks like.

Okay, so, Justin, as we're watching these comments, this is what's happening on Capitol Hill.

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee called to subpoena Elon Musk, and now they're debating on it.

Amy, do voters want their leaders to be doing more to fight back?

Yes, but it's tricky, because we saw what happened in November.

And so I'm hearing from a lot of Democrats that what they have been doing is not good enough.

Having Senator Schumer out there essentially saying, we will not rest, and having all of these lawmakers out there is not good enough.

They don't need to be screaming in the streets.

They need to show voters what they are doing.

And so Democrats are kind of expressing that right now.

They are frustrated, but they want their party leaders to be doing more.

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Employee or the boss? More Republicans 'nervous' about Trump's 'hatchet man' Musk

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