Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) is taking aim at Elon Musk’s controversial DOGE initiative, introducing a bill she says is necessary to stop the billionaire from dismantling government programs that millions of Americans rely on.
Jacobs first made the announcement in a post on X that quickly gained traction. “I just introduced the Delete DOGE Act, which – you guessed it – would defund DOGE,” she wrote.
In follow-up posts, she criticized Musk’s approach to government oversight, saying DOGE had resulted in the firing of experts and staff responsible for public safety and health.
“He ‘accidentally’ fired nuclear bomb specialists, people tracking Ebola and bird flu, and the people who answer the VA crisis hotline.”
Multiple employees working for the Veterans Crisis Line, which provides vital mental health support to suicidal veterans, were among those laid off in a government-wide purge.
According to the report, more than 2% of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ probationary workforce was dismissed, including hotline operators and administrative staff at Vet Centers.
Some of these employees had just days remaining in their probationary periods. One of them, who also serves in the Air National Guard, called the sudden firing “absolutely devastating.”
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) intervened to have at least two crisis line workers reinstated but noted they had not regained access to their work accounts.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) also condemned the layoffs, citing additional impacts including canceled medical procedures, closed VA operating rooms, and reduced mental health services.
The Core of the Delete DOGE Act
The Delete DOGE Act (H.R. 2601) would defund DOGE, officially known as the Department of Government Efficiency, which was established by executive order under President Donald Trump.
Jacobs accuses Musk of using the program to slash federal agencies, gut funding for essential services, and put lives at risk.
She says the program has gone far beyond streamlining government operations and is now directly harming the people it was supposed to serve.
Jacobs emphasized that these cuts have real-world consequences, especially for vulnerable communities.
In her view, the federal government’s most basic responsibilities—protecting public health, national security, and veterans’ services—are being tossed aside in the name of so-called efficiency.
“Stealing From The American People”
According to Jacobs, DOGE has already eliminated tens of thousands of federal jobs and shut down key federal websites, while compromising sensitive data across multiple agencies.
She says programs like Medicare, Social Security, and medical research at the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation have all been affected.
Even critical infrastructure, including air traffic control, has reportedly faced staffing shortages due to DOGE’s sweeping cuts.
“The bottom line is that Elon Musk’s DOGE is stealing from the American people to pay for tax breaks for billionaires like him and circumventing Congress and the law in the process,” Jacobs said in a press release.
“My Delete DOGE Act would stop what he’s doing and prevent him from robbing the American people and our future even more.”
The bill would block any federal funds from being used to enforce DOGE, revoke any unused funds currently allocated to it, and restrict future spending on DOGE-related projects or staff.
Jacobs also hopes the bill will set a precedent for reasserting Congressional authority over executive-led restructuring efforts.
DOGE Already Under Fire In Congress
Jacobs isn’t the only lawmaker pushing back. In February, Rep. Dave Min (D-CA) introduced the BAD DOGE Act to repeal the executive order that created DOGE in the first place.
He said Musk’s actions amount to a “blatantly illegal and unconstitutional” power grab that undermines democratic accountability.
“An unelected and unvetted billionaire violating our privacy and deleting federal agencies does not promote good governance,” Min said. “It violates the Constitution.”
Support for the bill has been growing among Democrats. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM), a co-sponsor of Min’s bill, added that DOGE is dismantling vital programs and harming communities.
“We will not stand by while this administration recklessly sows chaos,” she said.
Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ) echoed those concerns, arguing that DOGE is clawing back congressionally approved funds without any oversight.
“If Donald Trump and Elon Musk were actually interested in promoting government efficiency, they’d work with Congress to do it,” Ansari said.
Social Media Reaction
Jacobs’ post on X sparked wide engagement and mixed reactions.
Some users questioned whether defunding DOGE was the best approach, given the national debt and growing concerns over government spending.
“Imagine a country $40T in debt and the only program you want to defund is trying to cut waste,” one user wrote.
Others asked for more clarity about how DOGE’s cuts were doing more harm than good.
A few commenters pointed to the fact that Musk and President Trump don’t take government salaries, suggesting that DOGE might have some merit as a cost-cutting effort.
Still, concerns remained about the potential unintended consequences of those cuts.
Despite the criticism, Jacobs received support as well. Some users thanked her for taking a stand against what they saw as executive overreach.
“Thank you Congresswoman. #DefundDodge,” one person wrote.
Whether either bill advances remains to be seen, but the political fight over DOGE is heating up fast — and Elon Musk is right at the center of it.
With two competing bills in the House and growing public debate, the future of DOGE is now a flashpoint in a larger clash over who controls the federal government’s priorities.