SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Questions continue to grow about congressional oversight of Elon Musk as his work through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continues to impact Americans, including people in South Dakota.
Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds is among those who has questions for Musk and the work of DOGE.
In an interview with KELOLAND News on Tuesday, Rounds said DOGE could benefit by using the approach of “a scalpel rather than a sledgehammer.”
Rounds admitted his office has mostly become aware of issues in the form of people reaching out for help after the fact.
In the last month, KELOLAND News has reported on DOGE impacts regarding offices that have been closed, federal employees that have been fired and grants that have been stopped impacting local nonprofits.
“To begin with, [DOGE] were basically going into a department and they were shutting off computer systems and then finding out where people were saying ‘we’ve got a problem’,” said Rounds.
Asked how much information Congress was getting about DOGE’s actions before they occur, Rounds was blunt.
“Very little,” he said. “When they came in, the president said ‘go to work on it’, and they did — and they did move very, very quickly, and they did use a lot of the attitude of ‘let’s go through, let’s find out what’s there, and if something breaks, it breaks and we’ll fix it.'”
That Silicone Valley idea of ‘move fast and break things’ might work well when talking about systems, said Rounds, “but when you’re talking about where it impacts real people, that’s not as good.”
Rounds highlighted a recent meeting Musk had with the Republican conference in the Senate.
“I spoke directly to him on this particular topic, and I said ‘look, if you want to continue on with this, your work is going to be in jeopardy if you make mistakes’,” Rounds said. “And [Musk] acknowledged it. He simply said ‘I understand’.”
Rounds said Musk told the Republicans he will fix the issues that have arisen and he gave them his cell phone number, encouraging them to text him.
“I said ‘look, you’re going to have a lot of contacts on this. One person can’t do this,’ and [Musk’s] response was ‘well, I don’t sleep much — I do respond’,” said Rounds, who said the conference insisted that someone else share the work.
This insistence led Musk to give them another person’s phone number, said Rounds.
Despite this exchange of numbers, Rounds said he has found traditional methods most effective. “My staff has had some luck just going back — working through the regular channels and identifying — such as NIH, going back in there and saying ‘look, you’ve got a website that’s been shut down’,” he said.
Even when they reach out to these departments and an issue is fixed, Rounds reiterated that it’s unclear if his office reaching out was the cause.
KELOLAND News asked Rounds who is checking the work that DOGE is doing, and whether it is simply the offices of individual senators calling individual departments to inquire about individual complaints they’ve received.
“That’s kind of where it’s at right now, yeah,” said Rounds.
Republicans have brought this issue up to President Trump, according to Rounds, who said Trump also wants a more refined approach. “[Trump’s] message was pretty clear, ‘I don’t want a sledgehammer. I do want this to be a scalpel approach’,” Rounds said.
Musk and possible conflicts of interest
Turning to the man holding that scalpel or sledgehammer, KELOLAND News asked Rounds about Musk, who is an adviser to the president, a major Trump campaign donor and also a Special Government Employee tasked with finding waste in government departments.
Musk is also the head of several businesses, such as SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink, Starlink and X, and has been the recipient of $38 billion in government contracts and aid, according to the Washington Post.
We asked Rounds if this represented a conflict.
“I think, number one, the president is probably aware of those thought processes,” said Rounds, before pointing out that as a Special Government Employee, Musk is not a full-time employee.
In this capacity, Rounds says Musk is part of the executive branch and he is following what the law currently provides for.
“In the future, we’re going to look at this and I’m sure there are going to be additional ideas or thoughts about how long you can do that for — whether there should be additional limitations,” said Rounds. “Today, there is not.”
As for whether Musk’s business holdings represent concern for a conflict of interests, Rounds indicated this is a delicate subject.
“I think they need to be careful of that,” Rounds said. “Within the Department of Defense and within NASA and so forth, well certainly if he’s involved in that, there’s going to be questions and I think they’re going to question the propriety if he gets into those departments and starts asking questions about contracts or anything that may have to do with his companies.”
Asked if, within the framework of a Special Government Employee, there has ever been anyone with the amount of influence Musk currently has, Rounds said he could not think of anyone.
“This is clearly a unique situation where you have an individual with as much of a background as Elon Musk,” said Rounds. “The fact that the president has put this much faith in him is a new thing.”
While he could not think of a direct historical analog to Musk’s role in government, Rounds did cast around for a comparison. “Whether you’re talking about Nixon or Bush, or for that matter, Johnson — all of them have had envoys or individuals that have done special projects for them,” he said. “This one has really been something exceptional in nature.”
Despite the lack of congressional oversight, the issues with the speed and approach of DOGE and the unprecedented nature of Musk’s influence on government, Rounds continues to have an optimistic view.
“Is he legal in what he’s doing? The answer to that is yes. Is he getting done what the president wanted to get done? It appears that he is. Is it popular with the American people in terms of the overall aspects? The answer to that appears to be resoundingly yes,” Rounds said.
