Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) defended the work of the Department of Government Efficiency, suggesting it is providing accountability through shrinking the U.S. government.

Scott, who previously served as the governor of Florida, cited his work in the governor’s mansion in explaining DOGE’s work, specifically how Florida’s unemployment rate among veterans was “way higher” than the regular unemployment rate, and made it a priority to lower veteran unemployment. As such, he stressed how the United States must do two things: shrink the government’s size and ensure “everybody” can find a job.

“Now you do that by reducing regulation, you do that by streamlining the permitting process, you do that by growing the private sector, not growing the size of government in Washington,” Scott explained on CNN’s State of the Union. “Government in Washington is way too big. It‘s causing our inflation, it‘s causing interest rates to be high. When Donald Trump took office, I can just tell you, my experience is there was no accountability in government and there was no transparency. That‘s what Elon Musk, that‘s what agency heads, that‘s what Donald Trump is trying to bring to the table, and they‘re going to do it. They‘re going to figure this out. I‘m very optimistic that we can get this done and balance the budget.”

Scott continued by recognizing that some people don’t like accountability and transparency, as these people “just want to have a job.” However, he urged federal employees to return to the office, citing how employees in other fields need to show up in person.

The Florida senator added that people are “fed up” with the lack of accountability in the federal government.

DOGE NEEDS A SCALPEL, NOT AN AXE

When asked about how federal employees are getting rehired right after being fired, Scott contended “no one’s perfect,” but that DOGE would fix any mistakes it makes. He also called for the Trump administration to be “very aggressive” in how to fix the nation’s $36.5 trillion debt.