CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings appeared incredulous Wednesday when Seneca Project CEO Tara Setmayer claimed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) shut down diners.
President Donald Trump established DOGE in a Jan. 20 executive order, with Telsa CEO Elon Musk leading the effort until he stepped down as a White House senior advisor at the end of May. Setmayer claimed during a “CNN NewsNight” panel discussion that cuts by DOGE forced some restaurants to close.
“If you are a working-class American where manufacturing jobs are getting — are being lost by the tens of thousands, where small businesses are closing because of Donald Trump’s erratic tariff policy, where, you know, the diner waitress can’t — her diner is closed because Donald Trump and DOGE came in and cut tens of thousands of jobs in their hometown —” Setmayer claimed, with Jennings cutting in with, “You’re saying DOGE cut diners?”
WATCH:
“I’m saying that DOGE cut the jobs, the federal jobs in areas where it trickles down — and you know this. So when you lose tens of thousands of jobs in an area, then that trickles down because then you don‘t have those workers going to the nail salons and to the diners,” Setmayer said, with an apparently bemused Jennings responding, “This is a new one. I’ve never heard that DOGE cut the diners.”
DOGE identified $199 billion in savings since Trump established it, an average of $1,236.02 per taxpayer, according to the organization’s website. The department lists the savings it has identified on its website, breaking it down into contracts, leases and grants. It also breaks down spending, while providing information on the federal workforce and government regulations.
“Well, maybe you don‘t have anyone that works in a diner in your family, but I guarantee you —” Setmayer said, as Jennings, who was unable to contain laughter, replied, “I never heard that. That’s a new one. That’s a new one.”
“I’m happy to educate you, Scott, about what happens when you cut thousands of jobs,” Setmayer claimed, with Jennings responding through his laughter, “DOGE cut the diners.”
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