‘grossly Exaggerated’: Gop Governors Shake Off Criticism Of Doge

Elon Musk’s sweeping spending cuts are jeopardizing state budgets and putting thousands of federal employees out of work across the country. Republican governors say they’re not worried about it.

GOP governors who descended on Washington this week for the National Governors Association’s winter meeting dismissed rising concerns on Capitol Hill over the aggressiveness of the Department of Government Efficiency — even as budgets are strained from pandemic-era federal cash flows drying up. It’s another sign that even as the public mood sours on President Donald Trump’s cost-cutting, few in the GOP are willing to publicly break with him.

In fact, Republicans were broadly supportive of DOGE’s efforts, according to interviews with half a dozen GOP governors. At the White House on Friday, Trump and his aides asked governors in attendance to raise any issues with DOGE cuts, said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. A few hours later, outside the ballrooms in the bowels of the Grand Hyatt, GOP governors shrugged off any problems passed down to their states.

“Some of the negative impacts are grossly exaggerated,” said South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster. “Things will settle down, it’ll get better. But at some point we’ve got to cut that bureaucracy because it's strangling us. It’s strangling prosperity.”

GOP governors’ deference to DOGE comes amid signs that public support for the Trump administration’s slash-and-burn strategy — and the men behind it — is fading. Two polls released this past week show the majority of Americans now hold unfavorable views of Musk. And congressional Republicans are beginning to face backlash at home — with House members in districts that went for Trump getting confronted in town-hall meetings this past week over DOGE gutting federal agencies and firing employees en masse.

A White House official told POLITICO this week that the administration is slowing the pace of its sweeping firings at some agencies — an acknowledgment that the Trump administration is aware of the blowback, even as it proceeds with culling thousands of civilian employees at the Pentagon and tearing through the IRS and other agencies. Trump, too, seems undeterred, writing in a Saturday Truth Social post (in all caps) that while Musk is doing a “great job,” he wants to “see him get more aggressive.”

But Republican governors are largely standing firm behind Trump and Musk, even as they acknowledge DOGE’s rollout has been rocky.

“These things are always difficult,” Cox said. “We always knew there would be some bumps along the road. But nothing that we can’t work through.”

North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong said the media is stoking fears about the implications of the federal funding freeze and he hasn’t heard “a ton” of concerns from his residents.

Yet there are cracks appearing in Republicans’ support. Vermont Gov. Phil Scott — a GOP leader of a blue state who endorsed then-Vice President Kamala Harris over Trump — said he’s concerned about the rapid speed Musk’s team has operated with.

“You have to be judicious in how you look at things and make sure you’re sensitive to the repercussions,” Scott said.

But as budget season approaches in state capitals, the financial picture could get more complicated. One of California’s top state finance officials, Erika Li, said of all the risks facing the budget, the most significant immediate risk is federal policy.

“There's a lot of talk, but what's actually going to happen is still sort of up in the air,” Li said during a Friday virtual event hosted by the National Association of State Budget Officers. “But we are concerned of course about the potential loss of federal funding, which typically here in California comprises about a third of our overall budget.”

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, speaking at POLITICO’s Governor’s Summit on Thursday, said he planned to relay to White House aides that governors want to have input on DOGE’s cuts and would rather receive federal funds through block grants to protect core services.

“We would prefer more ability to spend the money the way that we think we can more efficiently, rather than wash through the federal bureaucracy,” Stitt said, adding that federal investment makes up about 40 percent of Oklahoma’s budget.

Still, GOP governors’ general complaisance mirrors that of congressional Republicans who have largely stood by as Trump and Musk run roughshod over their spending authority. In recent days, some Republican lawmakers have warned the White House to reverse firings affecting public safety, health and veterans and run DOGE’s cuts through Congress for approval. But even Trump’s few Republican critics in Congress say they support DOGE’s mission — if not its execution.

“I feel like there was an opportunity for DOGE to do significant, good things” but now we’re seeing “executive overreach,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said at the Capitol this past week. “We don't want to upset the president. We want to be part of the team. And I get all that. But do not lose sight of what our core responsibility is.”

But most GOP governors don’t share that concern. Idaho Gov. Brad Little, for instance, praised the Trump administration for putting out a call for seasonal firefighters and parks employees even as the national parks and forest services cut probationary employees.

“It’s good to shake things up,” said Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon.

Ry Rivard contributed to this report.