“Elon Musk does not have the power to fire people,” Mr. Scott said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “The president of the United States is Donald Trump, and the agency heads are the ones who manage each of their departments, so they’ve got the — they’ve got the decision, that’s what Elon Musk has told me time and time again.”

In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) defended Elon Musk and DOGE’s recommendations for federal job cuts, saying that Americans are “fed up” with government spending.