AOC Challenges Musk's DOGE Agenda, Slams 'Defund The ACLU' Call By Trump's Efficiency Czar

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a prominent political figure, has responded to Elon Musk’s call for defunding the American Civil Liberties Union. In a social media post on Thursday, she also attacked proposed cuts by the Musk-headed Department of Government Efficiency.

What Happened: She highlighted the disparity in funding priorities, pointing out that while the ACLU receives no taxpayer funds, proposals are being made by DOGE to cut funding for essential services like veteran healthcare, Medicare, and Social Security. This, according to her, targets some of the most vulnerable groups in society, including veterans, seniors, widows, and the disabled.

Ocasio-Cortez was reacting to a post by Musk, who along with Vivek Ramaswamy is set to head the planned presidential advisory commission in Donald Trump’s second administration.

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Why It Matters: This exchange comes amidst ongoing discussions about government spending and financial management. Recently, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) agreed with Musk on the issue of wasteful defense spending, highlighting the Pentagon’s failure to pass audits for seven consecutive years. Notably, Sanders’ implicit support of DOGE on the defense issue led to a 9% appreciation for a similarly named Dogecoin DOGE/USD cryptocurrency.

Meanwhile, Musk’s strategy for X has been under scrutiny, with critics arguing that it favors speech he aligns with while sidelining dissenting voices. It should be noted that organizations like the ACLU had accused the X owner of attempting to suppress free speech.

Photos via Shutterstock

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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Shivdeep Dhaliwal