Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said Wednesday on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” that liberals are “losing their minds” over the Trump administration’s efforts to expose and eliminate wasteful government spending.

He added that he would like to see President Donald Trump take down the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) next.

Hawley’s remarks come amid Democratic opposition to Trump’s restructuring of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which was discussed during an X Space conversation with Elon Musk on Monday.

Elon Musk Called This Financial News 'Terrifying'

The administration has moved to place USAID under the control of the State Department, a decision that Democratic lawmakers have called illegal.

Hawley called out Democrats for their reaction to the USAID overhaul, saying their outrage stems from the exposure of billions in taxpayer dollars funding questionable projects.

“They’re panicking big time, Laura, because their power base is being threatened. That’s what’s really going on here,” Hawley said.

“I mean, look at what they’re doing over USAID. This is because they’ve used that as their personal plaything. That includes billions and billions of taxpayer dollars that have gone, yeah, to fund outrageous stuff overseas like trans-affirming projects in Zimbabwe or whatever.”

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Hawley also pointed to the use of taxpayer money to fund media outlets, highlighting concerns about federal funds going to left-leaning publications like Politico.

“But also let’s not forget to fund their preferred media outlets like Politico and who knows what other left-wing rags have been getting money, federal government money from this agency, and there’s been no accountability,” Hawley said.

“So yes, what’s happening is Trump is exposing all of this. He is cutting off the liberal supply chains, as it were, and the liberals are just losing their minds. They’re totally losing their minds.”

DOGE derangement syndrome pic.twitter.com/w0vP8EkryM

— Politi_Rican (@TheRicanMemes) February 6, 2025

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Monday that he will serve as the acting director of USAID, assuring taxpayers that every dollar spent abroad will serve America’s national interest.

“Taxpayers need to be assured that every dollar we are spending abroad is being spent on something that furthers our national interest,” Rubio said.

He also noted that USAID employees have refused to cooperate with the administration’s directives.

Hawley took his criticism further, calling out the IRS and backing Trump’s stance on eliminating the agency.

“We need more of it. You mentioned the IRS. I love it. I love Trump’s idea to get rid of the Internal Revenue Service. Let’s make it the External Revenue Service. Let’s start making these agencies work for the American people,” Hawley said.

Would you like @DOGE to audit the IRS?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 4, 2025

He then accused Democrats of prioritizing wasteful spending on leftist policies over addressing key domestic issues like jobs, wages, and border security.

“So here’s their message, I guess, Laura, to the American people, which is that ‘Yes, we would love to waste your money. We’d like to take all of your money. We don’t want to spend it on America. We don’t want you to have better jobs. We don’t want you to have higher wages. We don’t want you to have a secure border. We’d love to go spend it overseas, promoting the left-wing transgender policies. We want to make sure that the trans flag is flying everywhere,’” Hawley said.

“We want to make sure that we’re pushing every left-wing pro-abortion policy we can. That’s what we want to spend your money on, America.”

On January 20, Trump issued an executive order ending a freeze on the hiring of federal civilian employees, applying the directive throughout the executive branch.

However, the order exempted the IRS, signaling a shift in how the administration plans to handle tax enforcement.

U.S. House Committee on Ways & Means Chairman Jason Smith issued a statement in support of Trump’s directive, calling the IRS freeze a “crucial first step to helping middle-class Americans and small businesses living in fear of 87,000 new IRS agents targeting them with new audits and monitoring their personal transactions.”

Hawley urged Democrats to campaign on their spending priorities in the midterm elections, predicting that voters will continue to reject their policies.

“I hope, Laura, that they run on this in the midterms. I hope they run on this forever. This is exactly what the American people rejected. The Democrats wonder, ‘Why are we so unpopular?’ That’s why you’re so unpopular,” Hawley said.

As the Trump administration moves forward with its plans to eliminate government waste, Democrats remain fiercely opposed to restructuring USAID and limiting IRS expansion.

With midterms approaching, the battle over federal spending, taxation, and international aid is expected to remain a central issue in Washington.

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