Members of the Senate DOGE caucus gathered with Elon Musk at the White House Thursday during a meeting that seemed tooled toward facilitating greater cooperation between Senate Republicans and Musk's efforts.
Senators who attended the meeting said Musk offered them assurance that DOGE does not have the independent authority to implement layoffs or slash congressionally appropriated spending.
"They don't have any independent firing authority. They can't do any of that nor do they have the ability to cancel any payment," Republican Sen. Mike Lee, who attended the meeting, said.
Republican Sen. John Hoeven said he got assurances that there would be greater communication with DOGE, especially as constituents raise concerns about DOGE cuts.
Hoeven said there have been instances in which he's received calls from constituents who were "let go, or something like that, but they need to be there."
-ABC News' Allison Pecorin