Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) is committed to working with the Trump administration and said that Democrats are not being “effective” in their response to President Donald Trump.
“I don’t think that it’s been very effective, the Dem response, so far,” Golden told the Washington Post. “In fact, I’m frustrated by it. If you make everything Defcon 5, then eventually nothing is Defcon 5, you know what I mean?”
While Golden’s peers in Congress, such as Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), have likened Trump’s upheaval of the federal government to a “constitutional crisis,” Golden defended moves made by the Trump administration, such as the work of the Department of Government Efficiency.
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“The thing about DOGE is, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find many people who would say that they’re not interested in eliminating inefficiency or getting rid of waste or fraud,” Golden told the outlet.
“There are some clear precedents of something that’s unconstitutional, right?” Golden, who was one of the first Democrats to express skepticism about former President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, later added. “But in a lot of cases, it’s not exactly self-evident and it takes time and patience and an interest in getting to facts before you can make these types of assertions.”
However, while Golden defended DOGE, he was critical of its leader Elon Musk’s influence over the department and Trump, saying Musk is “stepping on the president’s toes.”
“The way that Elon Musk is just, I think, getting out ahead of the president’s skis, and is just going in there and moving fast and aggressively, arising concerns and questions of ‘Is this legal? Is this not legal?’ is creating a headache for the president’s agenda on an issue that otherwise would be ripe for bipartisan work,” Golden continued.
Golden has accused his counterparts of being “undisciplined” in their attacks against Trump.
“I think if you rush right out and just say, like, ‘This is, like, dictatorial or illegal,’ you might end up being wrong, and that undermines your credibility,” Golden added.
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President Donald Trump won Golden’s district in 2016, 2020, and 2024. Golden said he is looking forward to working with Trump, having signaled his interest in working with Trump on his tariffs enacted on Canada and Mexico.
“That’s an area — tariffs and trade — that I’m very enthusiastic about working with the White House,” Golden told the Washington Post. “I think there’s obvious opportunity there, particularly because of the president’s views on tariffs, but also because we’ve got [a] trade deal coming back up for talks.”
