Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene opened the first meeting of the DOGE subcommittee by vowing to work with President Trump and Elon Musk to expose the “waste, fraud and abuse within the federal government” and offer “plans to fix the tremendous problems.”

The Georiga Republican and prominent Trump ally said the public “disgust” with Congress’ refusal to address spending is warranted and that members of both parties must get serious about addressing the rising deficit and debt “enslaving” American taxpayers.

“This is not a Democrat problem. This is not a Republican problem. This is an American problem,” Ms. Greene said in her opening remarks. “We, as Republicans and Democrats, can still hold tightly to our beliefs, but we are going to have to let go of funding them in order to save our sinking ship. This is not a time for political theater and partisan attacks.”

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky announced the creation of the Delivering on Government Efficiency subcommittee shortly after the November election and that Ms. Greene, who has ruffled the feathers of both parties, would lead the group.

The first committee hearing focused on “The War on Waste: Stamping out the Scourge of Improper Payments and Fraud” in Medicare and Medicaid.

Rep. Melanie Stansbury, New Mexico Democrat and the ranking member on the subcommittee, also started off with a bipartisan note, saying there is “ample ground” for the parties to “make the government work better for the American people and make sure it operates in a more efficient manner.”

She also said the committee is anything but normal and demanded that Mr. Musk testify before the committee.

“While we are sitting here, Donald Trump and Elon Musk are recklessly and illegally dismantling the federal government — shuttering federal agencies, firing federal workers, withholding funds vital to the safety and well-being of our communities and hacking our sensitive data systems.”

Ms. Stansbury said Republicans are shielding Mr. Trump and Mr. Musk “as they are clearly breaking the law” and trying to “scoop up” government savings to pay for tax breaks for “billionaires and the folks that they are helping on their side of the aisle.”

In her remarks, Ms. Greene said the federal government must start playing under the same rules as private businesses by providing “excellent customer service and smart financial management.”

She added, “No matter how bad the federal government fails the American people, it still takes your money, it still pays its own federal employees and it never, ever goes out of business. There are no consequences for bad customer service, total failure and for enslaving the American people against their will in the ever-growing and future all-consuming national debt.”

• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.