In 2025, Carter praised Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency” as DOGE-driven cuts and downsizing were affecting the federal government’s ability to deliver services to seniors. More than 1.56 million Georgians relied on Social Security benefits.
Carter wanted to “attack” social security and let Elon Musk ‘DOGE’ the SSA. He stood by while DOGE closed five of Georgia’s local SSA offices.
Carter promoted DOGE even though it resulted in $815 million in federal funding cuts to Georgia nonprofits and organizations. He downplayed the federal layoffs and wanted federal workers to prove they were efficient while Trump fired over 2,300 CDC employees in Atlanta.
Carter Supported The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s” IRA Tax Credit Repeals, Despite The Seven Projects And 4,462 Jos They Created In His District. According to Inside Climate News, “Others who said they supported tax credits come from heavily Republican districts that have major projects funded in part by the IRA. This includes Rep. Buddy Carter of Georgia, who has seven projects and 4,462 jobs in his district related to the law, and still voted for the bill. ‘This is a once-in-a-generation bill that will unlock President Trump’s full domestic agenda, which Georgians voted for overwhelmingly back in November,’ Carter said in a statement after the vote. ‘With the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act we are unleashing our nation’s energy dominance, securing the border, putting more money back into hardworking Americans’ wallets, kicking illegal immigrants off Medicaid so that it is available for those who need it, and ending the waste, fraud, and abuse that risks sending our country into economic ruin.’” [Inside Climate News, 5/22/25]
Carter Previously Signed A Letter Calling To Protect The Clean Energy Credits–And Thereby Hyundai’s $5.5 Billion Electric Vehicle, Hybrid, And Battery Manufacturing Plant In Carter’s District–But Decided To Support The ‘Big Beautiful’ Bill And Its Tax Credit Elimination Because He Wanted To “Unleash Energy Dominance.” According to The New York Times, “President Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ bill has stopped the Solarcycle factory in its tracks. The legislation, which passed the House and is now being debated in the Senate, would essentially eliminate the tax breaks that companies have been counting on to build new wind and solar projects, electric vehicle battery factories and more. Republicans in the House voted to get rid of the clean energy subsidies in order to pay for Mr. Trump’s income tax breaks, even if it meant hurting investment in their districts. [...] It turns out that Republicans feared defying Mr. Trump more than they feared endangering jobs, analysts said. “Voting no would have been a career-ender,” said Brian Robinson, a Republican political consultant in Georgia. Among the Republicans who voted for Mr. Trump’s tax bill was Representative Buddy Carter. His southeast Georgia district is home to a $5.5 billion Hyundai electric vehicle, hybrid and battery manufacturing plant. Mr. Carter had previously signed a letter with 17 other House Republicans calling to protect clean energy credits. But Mr. Carter, who is running for a Senate seat, said he ultimately voted for Mr. Trump’s package because he wanted to ‘unleash energy dominance’ and to cut taxes for his constituents.” [New York Times, 6/7/25]
Carter: “Every Taxpayer Should Be Happy With What DOGE Has Accomplished Thus Far.” According to the Washington Examiner, “‘Every taxpayer should be happy with what DOGE has accomplished thus far,’ Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) said, adding that he does not have any concerns about the cuts DOGE is implementing.” [Washington Examiner, 3/4/25]
[AUDIO] Carter Said That Gutting The Federal Bureaucracy Was “Not Rocket Science” And Wanted The Congressional DOGE Caucus To Permanentize Musk’s Cuts To Ensure It Was “Once And For All Taken Care Of.” “HOST: I heard one of your colleagues discussing this yesterday and basically saying it's as simple as, you know, getting the report from Elon Musk or from DOGE and then adding some language to it and then getting it through. I mean, this is not once he identifies things, it will not be that difficult to get rid of them. CARTER: No, it's not rocket science. I mean, it's you know, we do legislation all the time and it is basically straightforward, as you indicated. And and and that's our responsibility. But without codifying it, then, you know, you really haven't achieved anything because then it can happen again. And and that's that's not what we want. We want this once and for all taken care of.” [Martha Zoller Show, 3/18/25]
Carter Listed 100 DOGE-Cancelled Programs And Claimed That Trump “Saved More Than $100 Billion In 100 Days.” According to an X op-ed by Representative Buddy Carter, “Through the Department of Government Efficiency, President Trump has prioritized ending the reckless spending of the Biden-Harris era, restoring fiscal sanity and putting taxpayers, not foreign governments, first. The proof is in the receipts, and today, I’m bringing them. The Trump administration saved more than $100 billion in 100 days in part by cancelling these 100 programs, grants, and contracts:” [Representative Buddy Carter Op-Ed – X, 4/29/25]
[AUDIO] Carter Said Americans Were “Going To Have To Suck It Up” Because The DOGE Cuts Were “Going To Be Uncomfortable, Uncomfortable For All Of Us.” “And if you can cut the debt, you can bring inflation down. The more the the more money the government spends, the less money you have. And we need we need to understand that it is true. And that's why we need to cut our debt. And everybody's going to have to suck it up. And we're just going to have to make cuts that are going to be uncomfortable, uncomfortable for all of us.” [Politically Georgia, 12/6/24]
[VIDEO] Carter Thought A Blanket 1% Reduction In Federal Salaries Was “A Great Idea” That Federal Employees Would Not Notice, “With All Due Respect To My Staff And Those On The Federal Payroll.” “HOST: The poll says that voters still want more federal belt tightening and that 53% support a 1% annual payroll cut at every federal agency. 1% would hardly get noticed, but over ten years, that would save $1.9 trillion. What do you think of that idea? CARTER: It's a great idea. Look, and you know, with all due respect to my staff and and those on the federal payroll, look, I mean, I appreciate what DOGE doing. I appreciate the suggestion here of how we can save money.” [Allen Jackson Now, 3/11/25]
[VIDEO] Carter: “I Hate For Anyone To Lose Their Job, But, You Know, Show Me What You're Doing And Show Me That It's Efficient.” “You know, I hate for anyone to lose their job, but, you know, show me what you're doing and show me that it's efficient. Show me that, that we really, truly need as big of a bureaucracy as we got. When you have a bloated bureaucracy like we have , you're going to have waste, you're going to have abuse. We need to identify that. We need to be more efficient.” [WALB, 3/4/25]
[AUDIO] Carter Declared That “We Need To Attack Social Security” And Bemoaned The Social Security Administration’s Lack Of Transparency In Spending. “But, yes, there are cuts that can be made in Medicaid, Medicare, and that won't impact people. And we can have more more transparency. We can have more competition which will will result in lower prices. And that's what we need to do. I'm willing to attack Social Security and we need to attack Social Security. But again, it's got to be done in a bipartisan way.” [Politically Georgia, 12/6/24]
Carter Wanted To Reform Social Security To Reduce The National Debt. According to the Brunswick News, “Another priority is to find ways to reduce the federal government’s $36 trillion debt, which continues to grow every day, he said. ‘The greatest threat is the national debt,’ he said. ‘We’re spending money faster than the speed of light.’ While he’s not suggesting cuts to Social Security, Carter said something has to be done to ensure it’s there for the future. There are also plans to change Medicare without cutting benefits, he said.” [Brunswick News, 12/14/24]
[VIDEO] Carter Said There Was “No Question” About 360 Year Olds Fraudulently Claiming Social Security Benefits And Claimed That Musk’s Actions Were “Exactly What DOGE Was Intended To Do.” “HOST: Meanwhile, in the Social Security Administration, we've got people listed as being 360 years old, 159 years old, etc., etc., receiving Social Security benefits. What a waste of money, wow. CARTER: There's no question about it. And this is exactly what DOGE was intended to do and, and what we wanted him to do. And I applaud what Elon Musk is doing. I know the Democrats are coming after him.” [FBN: Mornings with Maria B., 2/18/25]
[AUDIO] Carter Claimed Social Security Cuts Would Be “Big Savings” Because There Were “People Between 100 And 136 Who Are Still Getting Social Security,” Even “One That Was 326 Years Old,” And Lauded Musk For “Using 21st Century Technology To Uncover These Things.” “HOST: The big thing that I love about what I'm seeing every day as I follow what DOGE is doing is things like are contracts where you have 11,000 employees, but you have 25,000 contracts for a particular department or people that are still on the Social Security rolls that are in their hundreds, which, you know, is not true. Fixing and updating and making systems more efficient. That's really where I think we're going to get the big savings. CARTER: It really is. And keep in mind, we are now using 21st century technology to check on these things. We should have been doing that long ago. But finally, and you know, say what you will about Elon Musk. He is using 21st century technology to uncover these things. And certainly, with the Social Security, it's just unbelievable. You know, people between 100 and 136 who are still getting Social Security and, you know, either they should be in the in the book of world where records are or there's something wrong. Well, we know there's something wrong. And I think I read somewhere where they found one that was 326 years old.” [Martha Zoller Show, 3/18/25]
[AUDIO] Carter Suggested Raising The Retirement Age By “A Year Or Maybe Two Years” Alongside Broader Social Security Reforms. “People are living longer now. Maybe we we look at people in their twenties and thirties and say, you know, look, you're going to live a lot longer than somebody in the past has lived in. And we might need to raise the age a year or maybe two years. Those are the kind of things we need to look at. And then and even then, the the number, the maximum number, maybe we need to look at it. Maybe it needs to be raised a little bit. Maybe it needs to be lowered a little bit. I don't know. But we need to look at it.” [Carter Telephone Town Hall, 3/24/25]
DOGE Cut $815 Million In Federal Grants For Georgia’s Public Schools, Universities, Public Health, Mental Health Services, Housing, Immigrant Services, And Agriculture Sector. According to State Affairs, “A State Affairs analysis of DOGE data found that as of mid-April, more than $815 million in federal grants for public schools, universities, public health, mental health services, housing, immigrant services, agriculture and international causes based in Georgia have been cut.” [State Affairs, 5/2/25]
DOGE Fired Over 2,300 CDC Workers In Atlanta. According to State Affairs, “No federal agency in Georgia has felt the sting of firings more than the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has lost at least 2,300 employees since layoffs and buyouts began last month, according to a list provided by former workers.” [State Affairs, 5/2/25]
DOGE Closed Five Social Security Offices In Georgia. According to ABC27, "Here’s the latest list of Social Security Administration offices that have been closed or are in the process of being closed by DOGE: Georgia - Brunswick, Columbus, Gainesville, Thomasville, Vidalia." [ABC27, 3/7/25]