Democrats think they’ve found their new winning slogan: “Nobody elected Elon Musk!” They’ve printed it on signs, shouted it into microphones, and even introduced a bill named after it. But here’s the problem—nobody elected Janet Yellen, Antony Blinken, or Alejandro Mayorkas either. That’s not how our government works.
When Americans went to the polls in 2024, they didn’t cast a vote for a laundry list of bureaucrats. They voted for a president who promised to cut government waste, and Donald Trump made it clear for months that he wanted Elon Musk to lead that effort.
Trump Told Us This Would Happen
For all the outrage coming from Capitol Hill, this didn’t come out of nowhere.
Back in August, Trump openly talked about Musk playing a role in slashing government waste. He called him a “brilliant guy” and floated the idea of making him an advisor. Musk responded enthusiastically, even posting an AI-generated image of himself at a podium labeled “Department of Government Efficiency.”
By September, Trump had made it official, pledging that “at the suggestion of Elon Musk” he would create a government efficiency commission to “audit the entire federal government” and “make recommendations for drastic reforms.” At an October rally in Madison Square Garden, Musk was introduced as the “co-founder of the Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), and he told the crowd, “I think we could do at least $2 trillion” in spending cuts.
Now, Democrats are pretending this was some sort of secret plot suddenly sprung on the American people. It wasn’t.
How Government Actually Works
The left’s argument boils down to: Musk wasn’t on the ballot, so he shouldn’t have a role in government. But that’s not how the executive branch functions. Nobody voted for Mayorkas to oversee immigration or for Blinken to run foreign policy. They were appointed by the president—just like Musk was tapped to help with government efficiency.
And here’s a reality check: nobody in the Biden administration ever got as much public buy-in for their job as Musk did. Trump didn’t hide this. He campaigned on it. Musk publicly accepted. Voters knew what they were getting.
Musk’s Role: Adviser, Not Dictator
Another flawed argument is that Musk is somehow calling the shots while Trump blindly follows along. Time Magazine is pushing this narrative, portraying Musk as the real power behind the presidency. This is nonsense.
If anything, Musk’s presence should be reassuring to critics of Trump’s populist policies. Musk supports free markets and deregulation. He believes climate change is real. He opposed leaving the Paris climate accords. He’s against government subsidies (even as his companies have benefited from them). In short, he’s the most free-market, innovation-focused person anywhere near this administration.
Democrats need to ask themselves: would they rather have Trump taking economic advice from Musk—or from Peter Navarro? Would they rather his immigration policies be shaped by Musk—or by Stephen Miller? If Musk is the counterbalance to Trump’s more hardline instincts, why is the media so eager to drive him out?
What Needs to Improve
That said, DOGE isn’t perfect. One major issue is transparency. Right now, the only way to follow what Musk and his advisory team are doing is by scrolling through Musk’s X feed. That’s not how government is supposed to communicate with the public.
DOGE should have a website where people can track its findings, proposed cuts, and what Trump actually implements. And while we’re on the topic of transparency—if the goal is to shine a light on government spending, taking down USAID’s website wasn’t the right move. Fortunately, spending data is still available at USASpending.gov, but the administration needs to be consistent: you can’t claim to be increasing transparency while making it harder to access information.
Additionally, we’ll likely need a Supreme Court ruling to clarify how much authority the president has in refusing to spend money Congress has already appropriated. This debate isn’t new—it goes all the way back to Nixon—but if Trump is serious about cutting waste, it’s a fight that’s bound to happen.
Bottom Line
Elon Musk wasn’t elected. But neither was any other presidential adviser or cabinet member. The real question is whether the American people wanted Trump to give Musk this job—and the answer is yes. They elected the guy who promised to put Musk in charge of cutting waste.
