(DC Pundit) – Rep. Tim Burchett, a GOP fiscal hawk who’s never been shy about ruffling feathers, dropped a bombshell during a Forbes YouTube interview this week. Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) won’t just trim fat from the federal budget, Burchett says it could land some lawmakers “in handcuffs,” and he’s not just pointing fingers at the usual Democrat suspects.
“You’re probably going to see some people in Washington, and possibly some people in Congress in handcuffs over some of this stuff, because of the money and the graft,” Burchett warned. “They think they’re slick, and … there’s no paper trail. But there’s a trail. There’s a trail for every dollar.” And with Musk’s brain trust on the case, those trails might just lead straight to a jail cell. “Elon Musk has got a team together, and that’s why they’re squealing the most,” he added with a smirk that suggests he’s enjoying the chaos already.
Burchett’s no stranger to taking on his own party when the situation demands it. Back in October 2023, he called himself a “friend” of then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy—right before helping to boot him out over McCarthy’s sluggish response to America’s ballooning debt crisis. The bromance didn’t survive long after that; a month later, McCarthy allegedly gave Burchett a shove on Capitol Hill, prompting the Tennessean to quip, “I’ve got a 16-year-old daughter, she’s hit me harder, probably.”
So who’s got the most to lose with the DOGE squad sniffing around? Burchett’s got his eyes on the federal “bureaucrats” first—those unelected paper-pushers who’ve been living high on the hog of taxpayer dollars. But he didn’t stop there. He’s also got a bead on members of Congress—potentially from both sides of the aisle—who’ve been cozying up to shady non-governmental organizations (NGOs) flush with government cash. “The way they set up these NGOs is, you get a rich person to put in a million dollars in something—it has some great name—and then some bureaucrat … puts maybe a billion dollars in their fund, of our tax dollars,” he explained. “And then it flows in a circuitous route back to Washington, to those same politicians, to their campaigns, and possibly just straight to their back pocket.” Sounds like a grift so blatant it’d make a mob boss blush.
Pressed to name names, Burchett played it coy. “I have my suspicions, and it could possibly be in both parties,” he said. Smart move—why spoil the surprise when Musk’s team is already on the hunt? For conservatives who’ve spent years hollering about draining the swamp, this is music to their ears. President Trump tapped Musk for this gig precisely because the Tesla titan has no patience for waste—or the whining of those caught in the crosshairs.
Burchett even got a peek into Musk’s motives during a chat with the billionaire. “Honestly, Tim, I just saw all the corruption and people doing without,” Musk told him. With a brood of kids to think about—seriously, the guy’s got more offspring than a reality TV dynasty—he’s hell-bent on steering the country back on course. “And I think he’s done it,” Burchett said, practically beaming with pride. Meanwhile, the “people that are squealing the loudest” aren’t winning any sympathy from him. “You’d think they’d want to get rid of the waste and abuse so that they can free up the money to give to those people that are deserving of it, not the other way around,” he jabbed. “And unfortunately, that’s what they’re doing.” Oh, the irony—politicians clutching their ill-gotten gains while crying foul.
For Republicans fed up with business-as-usual in Washington, Burchett’s prediction is a shot of adrenaline. Musk’s DOGE isn’t just about saving a few bucks—it’s a full-on assault on the corruption that’s been festering under both red and blue banners. And if a few lawmakers end up trading their pinstripes for prison stripes? Well, that’s just the kind of justice conservatives can raise a glass to.
Copyright 2025. DCPundit.com | Featured image credit: Matthew_Henry/Freerange Stock
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