Collins: Trump has empowered Musk 'far beyond' what is appropriate

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) says that President Trump has empowered billionaire businessman Elon Musk “far beyond what I think is appropriate,” reflecting growing angst on Capitol Hill over Musk’s aggressive approach to slashing government funding.

Collins bluntly questioned the wisdom of empowering Musk to slash programs authorized and funded by Congress.

“There’s no doubt that the president appears to have empowered Elon Musk to go far beyond what I think is appropriate,” she told reporters.

Collins is an author of the Better Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Act, which she wrote to support energy storage research and development. It may be defunded to pay for a tax package, and Collins said she was specifically worried about it when asked.

“So, I am concerned if the Trump administration is clawing back money that has specifically appropriated for a particular purpose,” she said when asked about the BEST Act.

Collins did note that former President Biden also pushed the bounds of executive power to redirect funding appropriated by Congress.

“Now, I’d stress that this president is not the first one to do that. If you recall, President Biden diverted funding that was supposed to be used to build the wall at the southern border. And instead used it for environmental reviews,” she said.

Collins said Musk and his team failed to provide advance notice to Congress of his plans to freeze activity at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which he boasted he spent the weekend “feeding … into the woodchipper.”

“There is a requirement in the law for 15 days' notice of any reorganization. We clearly did not get that. We got the letter yesterday,” she told The Hill on Wednesday.

Collins said the law “also calls for a detailed explanation of any reorganizations, renaming of bureaus, shifting of centers and again we have not received that.”

She said she would talk to fellow Appropriations Committee members “about our next steps.”

Collins said it “is a very legitimate question” whether Musk had the authority to shut down USAID.