©  Illustration / Courtney Jones; Greg Nash; Chip Somodevilla, Associated Press; and Adobe Stock

LAWMAKERS ARE GRAPPLING with the radical changes imposed by Elon Musk, whose provocative style has generated outrage and concern among Democrats, the federal workforce and even some Republicans, who worry his blunt force offensive could do unintended damage.

Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) captured the sentiment of some centrist Republicans, who worry about potential collateral damage from Musk’s slash-and-burn style.

“Efficiency in government should be a goal for every administration, agency, and federal employee,” Murkowski posted on X. “But how we achieve it also matters. By circumventing proper channels and procedures, and creating the potential to compromise the sensitive data of Americans, we create a tremendous amount of unnecessary anxiety. That is wrong. Good governance is based on trust, not fear.”

Collins said Trump has empowered Musk “far beyond” what is appropriate.

It’s been a head-spinning few weeks of lockouts, protests, lawsuits, firings and buyouts.

Here’s the latest:

• A judge extended the deadline for federal workers to accept the Trump administration’s sweeping buyouts offer. The court will weigh the merits of the bid to block the offer at a hearing Monday. More than 40,000 have resigned so far, although Democrats and federal employee unions say the buyouts are illegal.

• Trump authorized Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to make "rapid safety upgrades" to the air traffic control system. Democrats are pushing back on this, saying Musk's interference in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) constitutes a conflict of interest due to his company SpaceX.

• The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) shared the names of new employees with the Office of Personnel Management on an unclassified email, potentially compromising agent identities in an apparent effort to highlight workers who would be easier to fire.

• President Trump’s Justice Department agreed to limit the number of DOGE employees with access to the Treasury’s payment system after unions sued when two “special government employees” gained access.

• Government unions are suing DOGE over fears Musk will gain access to Labor Department information.

• DOGE employees have access to payment and contract systems at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

• Democrats say DOGE is wreaking havoc at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Republicans are largely supportive of Musk’s efforts to downsize the government, but some are acknowledging the brute manner in which the effort is being undertaken.

“I think we certainly are always concerned when there’s a bull in the China shop, and that’s certainly something that we’re seeing here,” Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said on CNN.

“This is going to be messy and sloppy and not pretty, but … it’s not going to be illegal,” he added.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio used a softer tone in describing the shuttering of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which has become a flashpoint for Democrats, who are furious at Musk’s aggressive dismantling of the agency.

“The United States is not walking away from foreign aid,” Rubio told staffers at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City, according to CBS. “It's not. We're going to continue to provide foreign aid and to be involved in programs, but it has to be programs that we can defend. It has to be programs that we can explain. It has to be programs that we can justify. Otherwise, we do endanger foreign aid.”

Rubio will skip the G-20 summit in Johannesburg amid tensions between Trump, Musk and South Africa.

Democrats are irate over Musk’s actions.

“What Musk is doing is illegal,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) said Musk is creating a constitutional crisis.

Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee sent a letter to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles warning that Musk’s access to government databases and payment systems “jeopardizes national security.”

Senate Democrats are demanding Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent brief them “as soon as possible” on DOGE’s access to the federal payment system.  

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) acknowledged there is wasteful spending in government, but he urged Musk to be more collaborative in rooting it out.

“I think they are likely to find awful examples of wasteful spending. I don’t contest that,” he said on CNBC. “I’m sure they can legitimately offer transparency and sunlight to the American people. Just come to Congress, show us what you’re finding, and then force up or down votes.”

Political strategist David Axelrod warned Democrats against pushing all their chips in to protest the shuttering of USAID, noting that foreign disbursements are among the least popular forms of government spending.

“My heart is with the people out on the street outside USAID, but my head tells me: ‘Man, Trump will be well satisfied to have this fight,’” Axelrod told Politico Magazine. “When you talk about cuts, the first thing people say is: Cut foreign aid.”