The White House is hitting back at Democrats who have criticized the actions taken by the Department of Government Efficiency by pointing out that Democrats have had similar cost-cutting ideas.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called out Democrats in an X post Sunday with a video showing former Presidents Obama and Biden calling for budget reform.

“To all of the Democrats who are planning to protest this week, here’s an explanation on DOGE, from your party’s own beloved leaders!” she wrote.

In the video, Mr. Obama is seen saying, “Budget reform is not an option, it’s a necessity. We can’t sustain a system that bleeds billions of taxpayer dollars on programs that have outlived their usefulness or exist solely because of the power of politicians, lobbyists or interest groups.”

“We are going to go through our federal budget as I promised during the campaign, page by page, line by line, eliminating those programs we don’t need, and insisting that those that we do need operate in a sensible, cost-effective way,” he said.

In another clip of the video, he says, “What should be easy is getting rid of the pointless waste and stupid spending that doesn’t benefit anybody.”

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“No amount of waste is acceptable, not when it’s your money,” Mr. Obama says at another point in the video.

Mr. Biden is seen saying, “The American people are entitled to transparency. They’re entitled to be able to figure out where their dollars are going, and they’re entitled to accountability to make sure that we’re using the dollars for what we said it was for.”

“We hope to be instilling an entire new culture, that not only our administration, but every succeeding administration will in fact pursue,” Mr. Biden says in the video.

Democrats have become increasingly critical of the work DOGE leader Elon Musk has done. Lawsuits have been filed to halt some of the moves, like accessing the Treasury Department’s payment systems and dismantling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The department has taken a microscope to the spending of several government agencies, including the Treasury and Education departments, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the CFPB. Mr. Musk has sought access to the Internal Revenue Service. President Trump has said other agencies will also experience scrutiny, including the military.

• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.