For now, Trump appears happy to allow Musk to take the heat. Speaking to reporters this week, Trump said Musk was acting with the “approval” of the White House. He also made clear that Musk was leading the charge on the administration’s most aggressive efforts to slash the federal government.

The party has struggled with how to respond to President Trump’s aggressive efforts to remake the federal bureaucracy and other controversies.

Democrats are opposing Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency as it turns its attention to the Education Department, with lawmakers raising questions about DOGE’s access to internal systems containing personal information on tens of millions of Americans.