During Wednesday’s House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) discussed the lack of transparency on actions by the Trump Administration and DOGE.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I was a little mystified to hear you say that this is all about, quote,
00:06stuff that does nothing to serve the American people. I don't believe that's what this is
00:12about at all. This is about transparency. The stuff that you claim doesn't serve the American
00:19people, we're concerned about, like Social Security, veterans benefits, and Medicare.
00:26These all concern the American people, and the American people are fed up with this administration
00:32and DOJ assessing our government's payment system and taxpayer data. It's understandable why they're
00:39worried. The Treasury and DOJ has refused to answer our letters, our calls, and our requests
00:45for information. If you've done nothing wrong, and you've got nothing to hide, then respond to
00:51our requests, and better yet, come before this committee. Don't leave the chair empty. Testify.
00:58My constituents, the American people, and all of us should be concerned with what DOJ and its
01:04leader, Elon Musk, is doing with our data. Elon Musk receives billions of dollars in government
01:11contracts, and now has access to the federal payment system, and has seen sensitive taxpayer
01:19data. To date, he has not filed a financial disclosure. He's not disclosed conflicts of
01:26interest, nor given up control of his companies that are receiving billions of dollars in government
01:32contracts. We have no assurances that he's not using this information for his own personal gain.
01:39In fact, Mr. Musk has already used this administration for his own benefit. DOJ has
01:46already targeted the Department of Labor, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, USAID, USDA, EPA,
01:55Federal Elections Commission, Department of Interior, Department of Defense, Department of
02:00Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Office of Government Ethics, all of whom
02:07have been investigating Musk or one of his businesses. And I'd like to ask unanimous
02:12consent to add to the record this report from the Judiciary Committee regarding these issues.
02:21Without objection.
02:22Thank you. DOJ is not about going after waste, fraud, and abuse. If it were,
02:28they wouldn't have fired all of the inspectors general. That's where you start the investigation
02:34to find the waste, fraud, and abuse. Instead, they're using their time to pass a bill that
02:40critical programs like Medicaid and extends tax cuts to the top 1% of the American people.
02:50My Republican colleagues seem tired of hearing from the American people who are complaining
02:56about Elon Musk, President Trump, and DOJ. You see this because they're refusing
03:05to call the Secretary and Mr. Musk before this committee. You know this because their
03:11leadership are telling members to stop holding town hall meetings, refusing to meet with your
03:17constituents who are concerned about these issues. I've never seen such a thing in my entire time
03:25in this office. To my Republican colleagues, this problem will not just go away on its own.
03:32However, it can go away if you vote for this resolution and demand answers from this
03:39administration. The American people may have voted for change, but they did not vote for chaos.
03:45They did not vote to end Medicaid. They did not vote to fire more veterans than have ever been
03:53fired before in the history of this country. They did not vote to end or greatly reduce
04:02Social Security. I urge my colleagues to vote for this resolution and let's get disclosure,
04:09let's get transparency, and let's get witnesses in this committee to tell us what they're doing
04:16and answer our questions on behalf of our constituents and the American people. I yield back.
04:22Mr. Larson.
04:26Thank you, Mr. Chairman.