Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) reined in the Department of Government Efficiency’s messaging after he was faced with opposition from his constituents.

McCormick appeared on Fox News’s Fox and Friends Thursday following volunteer DOGE head Elon Musk’s appearance at President Donald Trump’s first Cabinet meeting. Musk encouraged the Cabinet to work with DOGE, a move that appeared to demonstrate the new department’s influence.

“I think everybody realizes we’re spending a lot of money where we shouldn’t. You wouldn’t want the money taken out of your pocket and spending it on some of these unreal expenses,” McCormick said in reflection. “But that is just the tip of the iceberg. When you talk about the real cuts, it’s going to affect people’s jobs. You are talking about laying off a lot of people in government — the government is way too large. We have to be careful about messaging. The town hall hit hard on some people.”

McCormick’s comments reference a heated town hall a week ago in which Democratic and Republican voters expressed frustration with DOGE. People there encouraged McCormick to “stand up” against the new wing of the White House Office of Management and Budget.

“Even though we may have to lay them off, we shouldn’t be celebrating it. That’s not something that is taken willy-nilly. We have to make sure that we understand these are people with mortgages and children and house payments and all kinds of things they need to pay for. We just have to be compassionate,” McCormick said.

The line on compassion was borrowed from Musk, according to McCormick, who met with the tech CEO before Musk’s endorsement of Trump and subsequent appointment as his adviser. At the time, Musk recommended to McCormick that the Republican Party could be more compassionate.

AMY KLOBUCHAR SAYS ‘SHOCK AND AWE’ CUTS BY DOGE WON’T BE ‘EFFECTIVE’

During an interview on the Politically Georgia podcast, McCormick clarified that most federal employees laid off were hired in the last year, also known as probationary employees. He cited this as the reason the government had become the second-fastest growing job industry over the last four years.

Both Govs. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) and Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) have solicited fired federal employees to find work in their respective states.