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Boston Globe / Sam Brodey: 'I just call Elon.' To avoid DOGE cuts, lawmakers just need the right connections
Boston Globe / Sam Brodey - (archived: https://archive.ph/KQ4Xm ) ‘I just call Elon.’ To avoid DOGE cuts, lawmakers just need the right connections and an ‘R’ after their names
By Sam Brodey
Globe Staff,Updated March 13, 2025,
WASHINGTON — At Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, there is no official help line for members of Congress to call with questions about how the billionaire’s far-reaching effort to slash federal spending might affect their constituents.
But many Republicans have something better: Musk’s personal cell phone number, or failing that, the numbers of some of his top aides.
“I just call Elon,” said Senator Rick Scott, a Florida Republican, when asked how he tracks down answers to DOGE-related questions.
Democrats, meanwhile, have nothing at all.
Representative Jake Auchincloss, a Newton Democrat, told the Globe that he tried to get in touch with DOGE about a particular concern — he wouldn’t elaborate on the nature of the inquiry or explain how he conveyed it — but said “DOGE had every opportunity to engage with me in good faith and stiff-armed me.”
/snip
By Sam Brodey
Globe Staff,Updated March 13, 2025,
WASHINGTON — At Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, there is no official help line for members of Congress to call with questions about how the billionaire’s far-reaching effort to slash federal spending might affect their constituents.
But many Republicans have something better: Musk’s personal cell phone number, or failing that, the numbers of some of his top aides.
“I just call Elon,” said Senator Rick Scott, a Florida Republican, when asked how he tracks down answers to DOGE-related questions.
Democrats, meanwhile, have nothing at all.
Representative Jake Auchincloss, a Newton Democrat, told the Globe that he tried to get in touch with DOGE about a particular concern — he wouldn’t elaborate on the nature of the inquiry or explain how he conveyed it — but said “DOGE had every opportunity to engage with me in good faith and stiff-armed me.”
/snip