Democrats target Elon Musk, Trump's 'reckless way' in rebuttal
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a new senator from Michigan, became the face of a party still trying to forge a path ahead after devastating losses in November.
WASHINGTON – The Democratic rebuttal to President Trump’s joint address to Congress focused on kitchen-table issues while taking aim at Elon Musk’s efforts to dramatically reshape the federal government.
The response was given by Elissa Slotkin, a Democratic senator from Michigan who on Tuesday night became the face of a party still licking its wounds from crushing down-ballot defeats last November.
Historically, rebuttals to presidential addresses can be politically significant because they signal how different parties plan to pitch their visions of the country to voters.
Slotkin denounced Trump’s proposed tax cuts and trade wars, saying he hoped to ultimately accomplish an “unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends.”
She also scoffed at his alignment with Musk, the tech billionaire whose Department of Government Efficiency has been slashing government agencies and functions for weeks, prompting lawsuits and condemnation from much of the federal workforce.
“Is there anyone in America who is comfortable with him and his gang of 20-year-olds using their own computer servers to poke through your tax returns, your health information and your bank accounts?” she said.
She acknowledged that the Trump administration’s strategies to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in government have merit. But “there’s a responsible way to make change," she said, "and a reckless way.”
“Change doesn’t need to be chaotic or make us less safe,” she said.
Zachary Schermele is an education reporter for Paste BN. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.