During his presidential address to Congress, Donald Trump boldly declared that the influence of unelected individuals and their bureaucracy had come to an end, saying, “It’s very simple. The days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over.” The statement evoked a standing ovation from Vice President JD Vance and Speaker Mike Johnson.
Many joined Vance and Johnson in applause, but some were visibly baffled and even laughed at the contradictory nature of the President’s statement as he had allowed Elon Musk, an unelected individual, to make changes to the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Laughter breaks out after Trump says: The days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over. pic.twitter.com/9s0TV2medd
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 5, 2025
Soon after, Democrat lawmakers took to their social media handles to point out the hypocrisy in Donald Trump’s remarks. “This is almost laughable. Trump is the one who let an unelected billionaire bring the swamp of corruption right to the White House. Elon Musk is the unelected bureaucrat who must go,” Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL) wrote on X. Pramila Jayapal’s (D-WA) post had a similar ring. It read, “What about unelected billionaire shadow president, Elon Musk?”
Many of the posts that followed echoed similar thoughts. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) sarcastically agreed with Donald Trump, saying, I agree with Donald Trump that an unelected bureaucrat should be fired. Let’s start with Elon Musk.”
View this post on Instagram
Political observers also weighed in on the situation, with professor and former Clinton administration Labor Secretary Robert Reich, saying, “All of the Republicans who for years railed about ‘unelected bureaucrats’ destroying the government are awfully quiet as an unelected bureaucrat destroys the government.”
Public health scientist Eric Feigl-Ding took jibes at the statement by mentioning it with a GIF of Musk. The post referred to the tech mogul as “Unelected President Musk.” White House correspondent and political analyst Brian J. Karem called out the SpaceX founder as well in a post, saying, “Did he just fire Elon? He just said the days of unelected bureaucrats running the government are over. What’s Elon?”
Sarah Longwell, a Republican pollster and founder/publisher of TheBulwark pointed out Musk’s existence and influence in the Donald Trump Administration in a post. It read, “Elon Musk is an unelected bureaucrat.”
View this post on Instagram
Donald Trump’s entire statement about federal bureaucrats read, “Americans have given us a mandate for bold and profound change. (For) Nearly 100 years, the federal bureaucracy has grown. Until it has crushed our freedoms, ballooned our deficits, and held back America’s potential in every possible way. The nation founded by pioneers and risk-takers now drowns under millions and millions of pages of regulation and debt.”
He continued, “Approvals that should take 10 days to get, instead take 10 years. 15 years. And even 20 years, before you’re rejected. Meanwhile, we have federal workers who have not been showing up to work. My Administration will reclaim power from this unaccountable bureaucracy and we will restore true democracy to America again. And any federal bureaucrat who resists this change will be removed from office immediately.”
Donald Trump concluded, saying, “Because we are draining the swamp. It’s very simple, and the days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over.”
