00:00Thank you. I now recognize Ms. Crockett from Texas.
00:03Thank you so much, Madam Chair. It is interesting that we're talking about bypassing Congress.
00:07It seems like that's all that has happened, actually, this Congress.
00:10In fact, it's why we've had to spend so much time in courts.
00:13And thank God that we at least have one branch of government that has decided not to abdicate their duties
00:18and has decided that there are things such as, you know, impoundment.
00:23And so when Congress does make a decision or does sign something into law
00:27or has been signed into law by a president that you can't just bring in your good little friend
00:32who helped you get elected to the tune of $300 million and say,
00:37hey, guy, you get to do whatever you want to, despite what these duly elected people have done.
00:42But I digress. But I am going to get back to Elon because Elon is looming over every single doge hearing.
00:49You know why? Because that's supposedly what Elon was setting up.
00:51But now they don't want to talk about Elon because Elon now is a little upset.
00:55There's a family spat that's obviously going on, and it is going to play out, it seems like, all over Twitter.
01:01But nevertheless, let's talk about some of the things that we should be talking about.
01:06And you know what? Every time I come in here, I really do wonder, what is the point?
01:11Like, why are we here? Because it doesn't seem like we're doing efficiency, right?
01:14Like, have we seen Elon? No. Have we seen anybody that works for Doge? No.
01:18But we're in the Doge subcommittee, and we're talking to everybody but the Doge people.
01:21So to hear the comments about Stacey Abrams, it really got me going.
01:27And a lot of times when we come into this hearing room, it's all about politics.
01:31And it made me think that there was an issue most likely with Stacey because someone actually brought up the fact that Stacey has run for governor a couple of times.
01:40And it seems like there's a gubernatorial race that's coming up in Georgia, and nobody knows whether or not Stacey is going to run.
01:46So why not muddy the water if we can to hopefully keep a strong black woman down?
01:51But again, I digress.
01:52So let's talk about the things that we could be talking about while we sit here in the Doge committee.
01:57It seems like we could be talking about, you know, things like efficiency or oversight.
02:02But when announcing this hearing, the chairwoman stated the Doge subcommittee would, quote, continue bringing long overdue transparency and accountability to those who abuse tax dollars.
02:12But so far, this Congress, Republicans have focused their oversight responsibilities on things like defunding Big Bird, as well as attacking, of course, trans kids, because they're really the big threat that we have.
02:23We could be talking about how the Trump administration is ignoring these court orders, supporting American citizens or targeting members of Congress for prosecution, or how Trump signed an order deregulating the cryptocurrency industry just as his family launched a digital currency.
02:38We could be having a hearing on how Trump fired members of the National Labor Relations Board for bringing a suit against Elon Musk, or how the Trump administration dismantled the Office of the Federal Contract Compliance while the office was investigating Tesla
02:52for alleged racial harassment, or how Trump dropped lawsuits against numerous large companies after they donated to his inaugural fund.
03:01We could have a hearing on whether Trump violated the Emoluments Clause when he not only, it seemed like he asked for a $400 million jet from a foreign government.
03:11Trump has put a for sale sign on the lawn of the White House and has allowed wealthy donors to dictate how the government operates.
03:18That's what we should be having a hearing about, but nope, they're here attacking non-profits that deliver food to seniors and disabled folk, provide child care and elder care for working families, job training for teens, and shelter for the unhoused.
03:33The Republicans and their witnesses have accused non-profits of being, quote, radical and, quote, addicted to government money.
03:39And listen, I try to find agreement where I can.
03:42So I am going to say that I absolutely do agree with that statement to a certain extent because there is a non-profit by the name of the Heritage Foundation.
03:50And last time I checked, the Heritage Foundation, they are the authors of Project 2025, and we are living through the hell of Project 2025 right now.
03:58And something tells me that that's a bit of a partisan thing because they said it was the conservative playbook.
04:03So as far as I'm concerned, I don't know why we would ever look at the Heritage Foundation and think that it's anything but radical and, quote, addicted to government money potentially.
04:13So, Ms. Yentl, before I do that, I'm going to come to you because I want to make sure that I get these things on record.
04:21I have a unanimous consent, Madam Chair.
04:24It says Donald Trump allegedly asked AIDS whether Elon Musk's Doge promises were all bull, and then you know what the rest of it is.
04:32Unanimous consent.
04:33Without objection.
04:34Thank you so much.
04:35I have another one from CBS News.
04:37Despite Trump's promise cuts, U.S. spent more than $200 billion more in the first 100 days than last year.
04:44If some reason we focus on some efficiency, we may have more money to work towards this deficit that some of my colleagues say that they're concerned about.
04:52And I guess Ms. Yentl, I'm going to run out of time.
04:53Because if we were going to focus on this deficit, then maybe you wouldn't have your own friends coming out and talking about how we're going to have to lift the debt ceiling, $5 trillion,
05:01because how else can we pay for the billionaires to keep more money in their pockets?
05:05Thank you, and I will yield.
05:07The gentle lady yields, and for the record, the Heritage Foundation receives no federal funding.
05:12I now recognize Mr. Burchett from Tennessee.
05:15Thank you, Chair Lady.
05:17I think the irony of all our ironies here is that our friends across the aisle keep bringing up.
