Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) slammed tech billionaire and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk as “one of the most unintelligent billionaires” she has ever met.
In a live video on her Instagram, Ocasio-Cortez weighed in on Musk’s influence over the federal government as DOGE examines and infiltrates various agencies, including the Treasury Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
“This dude is probably one of the most unintelligent billionaires I have ever met or seen or witnessed,” she said.
Ocasio-Cortez slammed DOGE for not doing “their homework” and putting 19-year-olds in positions of power at the Treasury Department.
“This dude is not smart, and the danger in the lack of intelligence and the lack of expertise that Elon has, I mean, this guy is one of the most morally vacant, but also just least knowledgeable about these systems that we know of,” she continued.
The New York Democrat argued there will be a point or “a button” that will be hit when things “go sideways.”
Over the last several days, there’s been concern as Musk and DOGE gained access to the Treasury Department’s federal payment system. Despite some employees pushing back, they were given access to the department’s system that controls $6 trillion annually to distribute federal funds.
It controls funding for Social Security and Medicare, salaries for federal workers, payments to government contractors and grant recipients, and tax refunds.
DOGE officials have defended their actions by saying they are making sure government spending aligns with the Trump administration’s agenda, but Democrats, like Ocasio-Cortez, are sounding the alarm that confidential and sensitive information could have been compromised.
Officials at DOGE also essentially shut down USAID and attempted to put the international aid agency under the State Department.
The Hill has reached out to a contact at DOGE for comment.
