Elon Musk will once again be wheeled out at President Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress, and can expect glowing praise from his boss—in front of the people whose firing he instigated.
A White House official told CNN that the president will put the spotlight on his top adviser Tuesday night for his work in slashing federal spending. Musk will enjoy the adulation from MAGA lawmakers, but he faces growing scrutiny among Republican voters.
Musk’s popularity, according to several polls, has plummeted among Republicans since he took his DOGE chainsaw to federal agencies. People are now flocking to town halls across the country to protest against Department of Government Efficiency cuts, despite the White House’s tenuous assertion that Musk doesn’t actually lead the division.
The Tesla and SpaceX chief will likely soak up the praise from the president, but he will also be the face of any failure—something canny operator Trump knows well. Trump will have noticed the change in tone toward DOGE when it got its hands on sensitive government data. A Washington Post-Ipsos poll found that 32 percent of Republicans said they were “concerned” about it.
The commander-in-chief is also expected to extoll the virtues of his own work since taking office for a second time in January. The speech will focus on four main points: domestic and international successes, economic wins, the strengthening of U.S. borders, and Trump’s quest for global peace, White House officials told Fox News.
It will be themed “The Renewal of the American Dream,” according to Fox News. However, according to Axios, the celebratory mood in MAGA corners might be dampened by the presence of some of those people fired by DOGE.
The site reports that some House Democrats are inviting fired federal workers to tag along as their guests for the event, which will otherwise be similar to a State of the Union address. This idea was spearheaded by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Axios reported last week.
Schumer will bring Alissa Ellman, a disabled veteran recently relieved of her position at the Buffalo, New York, Veterans Affairs office. In a statement, Schumer pointed out that Ellman had served her country both in the Army and in her role at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“Firing her, firing veterans and slashing thousands from the VA workforce is outrageous and should be reversed,” Schumer said. ”This is not how you treat our veterans—it’s not just unacceptable, it’s un-American. DOGE cuts and Trump’s funding freeze have created chaos in Western NY and kneecapped far too many vets."
Reports suggest that House Democrats are considering a number of protests, too. The exact method is being hotly debated and ranges from wearing black to reflect the mood of the party to walking out when Trump speaks.
But despite a differing of opinions concerning the method of dissent, Dems are united in their overall message. “The part that we all agree on is that this is not business as usual and we would like to find a way—productively—to express our outrage,” one House Democrat told Axios.
