Rep. Courtney Goes After DOGE at the Defense Department

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, in the House Armed Services Committee meeting, Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02), a senior Member of the Committee, introduced an amendment to the reconciliation bill (H. Con. Res. 14) to ensure Elon Musk’s DOGE does not impact U.S. military readiness.

The amendment locks the funding authorized for the Department of Defense that is included in the budget bill until the Secretary of Defense has taken a full inventory of the implications of DOGE’s actions and certify that they do not have a detrimental impact on readiness.

Over the last 100 days, DOGE has taken a wrecking ball to the federal government all while failing to meaningfully improve government efficiency–even by Musk’s own standards. Now, Musk has his eyes set on the Department of Defense. 

“The purpose of this amendment is to just recognize the really pathetic and disappointing results of DOGE activities, which promised the American people a lot going back to the campaign. … Now we have a situation where DOGE is aimed its sites at the Department of Defense. The concern, which this amendment reflects, is not overthinking or imagined. In February, DOGE fired hundreds of staff at the National Nuclear Security Administration who were responsible for maintenance and oversight of nuclear programs, including the handling of our arsenal of nuclear warheads,” said Courtney. 

Read the amendment here. Download the chart “Elon Musk’s DOGE Savings: Promises vs Reality,” here.

 Watch and download Rep. Courtney’s testimony here.

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