Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) was pressed about billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency‘s work in the Trump administration during a telephone town hall meeting Monday afternoon with his constituents.
Carter, who represents a safe Republican district that includes the entire Atlantic coast from Savannah to Jacksonville, was quick to point out DOGE’s positives in his opening statement of the call, which was limited to 1st Congressional District residents, given the level of concern Republicans in other districts have espoused at similar events.
“Already, DOGE has saved over $100 billion. That’s almost $652 per taxpayer,” Carter told listeners. “But the fake news media, they lied about the work of Elon Musk and DOGE, and because it’s working hard to deliver President Trump’s promise to improve government efficiency, DOGE is saving taxpayers money.”
One caller, a woman, said she supported regulating the government and spending but asked who was overseeing DOGE and if Americans’ personal information would, in fact, remain private.
“DOGE has no access to your personal information,” said Carter.
The Georgia Republican was later asked by another constituent how he would ensure nothing happens to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, government programs that Democrats have said could be cut back by DOGE.
Carter said President Donald Trump was clear in planning for the 2026 budget that DOGE should not “touch” any of those programs.
“The president has been clear: do not touch Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. He has been clear about that, with the exception of waste fraud abuse,” said Carter.
One man inquired why, with “all the years that you’ve been in Congress,” Carter had not done more to track down government fraud.
“We don’t have the ability, we don’t have the knowledge of having — like DOGE does, like Elon Musk and his group has — we don’t have those algorithms. We don’t, we’ve been using very antiquated procedures,” said Carter.
Carter was also pushed during the call to explain why Congress was overfunding nongovernmental organizations and federal agencies, effectively creating the waste that DOGE is now finding.
“It’s going to be up to us in Congress to act upon it, and that’s, that’s our responsibility. If we don’t do that, shame on us,” Carter responded. “If we don’t address those situations in Congress … then we should be held responsible, and we will be responsible.”
Two callers lamented the effects of the Biden-era border crisis and voiced concerns about government money that illegal immigrants were eligible to receive after being released from the border into the United States, while two other callers noted the high cost of groceries and pleaded for help.
“It’s going to take more than just a couple of three months [to lower grocery prices],” Carter admitted.
Town halls, typically in-person events attended by the member of Congress who represents that particular district and several hundred people, have been few and far between amid pushback from Republican voters over the Trump administration’s loose handling of the DOGE. This may have led Carter to take to the phone lines Monday evening with backup from a fellow lawmaker.
Carter touted a special guest who joined him at the top of the call, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX). Gill stayed on the call for 20 minutes and spoke about his work to hold the judicial branch accountable for one recent ruling related to Trump’s actions at the border.
Gill recently made headlines for putting forward articles of impeachment against a federal judge who blocked the Trump administration from carrying out deportation flights to El Salvador earlier in March. Judge James Boasberg, Gill previously said, was nothing more than a “radical activist” who blocked deportation flights to El Salvador over the weekend.
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When asked if Carter would have an in-person town hall again, the Georgia Republican said the tele-town hall helped “reach the whole district.”
“Everybody’s got a telephone. We can reach so many more people this way than we can and in person,” said Carter, using a line that the National Republican Congressional Committee advised the House GOP to stick to.
