Dem Rep. Kamlager-Dove on DOGE: Not Going to Be Part of ‘Fake Position for Fake People’ to Cut Social Security

On Friday’s broadcast of NewsNation’s “The Hill,” Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) stated that she doesn’t want to be involved with the Department of Government Efficiency because “it’s a fake position for fake people who are trying to cut programs that the American people need.” But “we’re going to have to be at the table when we are negotiating with Republicans because their margin is so thin. So, we do want to be at the table. We do want to make government work for everyone.”

After playing clips of some Democratic members of Congress saying they want to be in the room, host Blake Burman asked, “You want in on DOGE?”

Kamlager-Dove answered, “No. I think it’s a fake position for fake people who are trying to cut programs that the American people need. I am certainly not interested in grandmothers across the country dying because DOGE is trying to cut their access to Social Security and Medicare.”

After Burman cut in to say that they aren’t going after Social Security, Kamlager-Dove countered, “Well, what they’re saying is they want to cut at least $2 trillion and Congress has appropriation, the purse for about 1.7 trillion. So, what else they want to cut is going to have to come from mandatory programs that are keeping people alive. I do support looking at waste and fraud and abuse, absolutely, how we can make government work better, absolutely. And, in fact, just was elected whip of the Congressional Black Caucus…and so, we’re going to have to be at the table when we are negotiating with Republicans because their margin is so thin. So, we do want to be at the table. We do want to make government work for everyone.”

Burman then cut in to ask, “Just not the DOGE table?”

Kamlager-Dove responded, “Well, we want to be realistic. That’s not a real agency or department. They can certainly make suggestions. It’s curious to me that Elon Musk has benefited, to over $6 billion of taxpayer dollars so that he can have his hobby of trying to get more investors to invest in the things that he’s trying to do. But, at the end of the day, Congress has to make sure that the American people are alive and healthy and employed and well.”

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