Americans are split on Elon Musk’s efforts to cut waste, fraud, and abuse from the federal government — if not for the program’s policy aims then for the billionaire’s own erratic style and penchant for getting some important things wrong. While Republicans may not be ready to call him out by name, it’s clear the party stalwarts are starting to get annoyed by Mr. Musk’s actions and the attention he calls to sensitive political topics. 

Welcome to Washington, where just this last week it became clear that the patience of GOP lawmakers and executive officials is, in the face of Mr. Musk’s antics, wearing thin. The world’s richest man has been on a mad dash through the administrative state — cancelling contracts, firing employees, and calling for steeper cuts to the federal budget. Republicans are now trying to take back some semblance of power. 

This past week, Mr. Musk met with Republican senators during their weekly lunch in a stately conference room just across the hallway from the Senate chamber, where he was peppered with questions about his Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts and how he can work with elected officials. Senator Graham told reporters that once Mr. Musk learned how the federal spending process actually worked, he did some kind of a dance.

Senator Hawley told members of the press that the DOGE chief exclaimed, “I didn’t know that!” after being told that congressional Republicans could actually play a role in helping him cut funds from the budget. 

The following day, it became clear that Republicans were eager to take back more of that power, expressing to The New York Sun that they didn’t need Mr. Musk butting in on their plan to keep the government open while cutting spending and eschewing the help of Democrats in what is usually a bipartisan process. 

“The last thing we need is someone other than anybody that’s trying to unify us. Don’t give us a third objective. If you do, then we’ll have a non-event,” Senator Tillis told me just off the Senate floor, referring to the possibility of a government shutdown, which would come at the end of the day on Friday if legislation isn’t passed.

The North Carolina senator, who will be one of Democrats’ top targets next year, conceded that Mr. Musk has “hit a few speed bumps” in his crusade. Another ally of Republican leadership, Senator Boozman, expressed a similar sentiment, telling the Sun that GOP lawmakers and Mr. Musk need to have better channels of communication.

At the lunch he attended at the Capitol, Mr. Musk went so far as to start handing out his cell phone number so lawmakers could reach him directly. When pressed on the issue of Mr. Musk possibly throwing another tantrum and blowing up a second government funding deal — as he did in December — Mr. Boozman expressed a sense of frustration just with his mannerisms.

“I hope we don’t shut down,” Mr. Boozman chuckled as he looked at the ceiling in the basement of the Capitol after being asked about Mr. Musk. Quickly attempting to change the subject from Mr. Musk’s role, Mr. Boozman draped his arm over my shoulder and asked, “So, how you doin’? All good?”

It isn’t just in the legislative branch that Mr. Musk is starting to rankle would-be allies. The billionaire reportedly got into heated exchanges with two of President Trump’s cabinet secretaries, Marco Rubio and Sean Duffy, during an impromptu meeting at the White House on Thursday afternoon. 

Mr. Trump has stayed above these frays, though they are creeping closer and closer to him — rising to heated discussions in the Cabinet Room just steps from the Oval Office from low-level bureaucratic issues. In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Mr. Trump said that Messrs. Musk and Rubio have a “GREAT RELATIONSHIP” and averred that any press report stating otherwise was untrue.