After taking credit for DOGE shakeup, Elon Musk now tells Republicans to stop blaming his cuts amid mounting criticism

Elon Musk, whose DOGE team was considered to be involved in cutting the federal workforce, is now pushing back against accusations and has claimed that DOGE is not responsible for the job eliminations, as per a report.

Elon Musk shifts blame to agency heads

Amid growing concerns and backlash, Musk is trying to shift the blame, saying that the decisions to eliminate over 70,000 positions at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) were made by the agency heads, not his team at DOGE, reported News Republic.

Republican Representative Derrick Van Orden told GOP lawmakers in a private meeting that Musk had recently said the job cuts “wasn’t a DOGE decision,” as per CNN. Musk reportedly explained that the departments had their own plans to reduce positions and that DOGE had simply assumed that these agencies would reward productive workers, as per the report.

DOGE’s role: Recommendations, not direct orders

While Musk has previously defended the cost-cutting measures by stating that DOGE only makes recommendations, and it's up to agency heads to carry them out, but it is unclear what happens to agencies that failed to act in accordance with DOGE directives or the Trump administration’s mission to shrink the federal workforce, reported News Republic.

Musk acknowledges mistakes

According to Politico, Musk acknowledged in a private conversation that he had made some massive missteps, and said he “can’t bat a thousand all the time.” However, as these decisions have resulted in the loss of livelihoods for many workers, the