New Sen. Jim Justice 'absolutely' shocked by Democrats' response to Elon Musk's DOGE revelations
2025-02-15
Category: political

New Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., is voicing frustration over what he sees as excessive government spending, calling out Senate Democrats for opposing cost-cutting measures under the Trump administration. Justice, who flipped a longtime Democratic Senate seat in November, said he has been shocked by what he has witnessed in Washington since taking office. "I’m a new kid on the block in the Senate," the former West Virginia governor said Friday on "The Faulkner Focus."&nbsp; "Watching the liberal Democrats in Washington, D.C., is absolutely shocking to me." A close ally of President Donald Trump, Justice has backed the administration’s recent push to reduce federal spending.&nbsp; TRUMP SIGNS ORDER INSTRUCTING DOGE TO MASSIVELY CUT FEDERAL WORKFORCE  Justice wrote last month on social media platform X, "I’ve joined 25 other Republican governors in supporting President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Initiative. The goal is to streamline government, cut wasteful spending, and balance the federal budget. Let’s make it happen." He has defended DOGE’s decision to cancel millions in federal grants. Among those slashes were more than $100 million in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training at the Department of Education. "We don’t need to be sending tens of millions of dollars to people to teach them about Sesame Street, or tens and tens and tens of millions of dollars to terrorist groups to absolute teach them DEI," Justice said, referring to spending uncovered by DOGE. DEMS SPAR OVER DOGE CUTS WITH TRUMP EDUCATION NOMINEE LINDA MCMAHON Democrats, however, have criticized the administration’s cost-cutting measures, arguing that programs like DEI training are necessary to maintain fairness and inclusion in federal agencies. Justice pushed back, accusing Democrats of defending unnecessary spending.  "Why in the world you … absolutely defend this unbelievable amount of waste? And they continue to do it," he said. DOGE announced Wednesday that it had canceled at least 58 federal contracts, estimating over $150 million in taxpayer savings. Trump has praised DOGE's recent work, saying it had already uncovered "massive amounts" of fraud, waste, and incompetence in government spending. Justice urged lawmakers to let Trump’s team continue its work without obstruction. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "At the end of the day, we elected President Trump, and let him do his job," he said. "For crying out loud, let him get his team in place and let him do his job." "We’ve gotta wake up in America and get ourselves on the right footing… Thank goodness for Elon Musk, that he’s absolutely willing to do this and asking for nothing," Justice said. He knocked Democrats for "running through the streets with their hair on fire" in an attempt to "whip people up" and scare Americans. &nbsp; "That was the strategy they had in the election and they got their doors blown off."