The public's elected representatives, the president, the House and the Senate, decide what happens

as opposed to a large, unelected bureaucracy.

But you can't have an autonomous federal bureaucracy.

You have to have one that's responsive to the people.

That's the whole point of a democracy.

That was Elon Musk, justifying the work of his Department of Government Efficiency team yesterday in the Oval Office.

But the question is, does Musk not see the irony here?

Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, some Democrats think they'll soon have some leverage against Musk and President Trump

in an effort to stop the dramatic cuts they're doing to the federal government.

The question is, what exactly is the plan?

Plus, an American who was wrongfully detained in Russia is back home this morning after a swap with the Kremlin.

But the question is, what did the U.S. give up to get him back?

It's way too early for this.

Good morning and welcome to way too early, the show that's looking at a live picture of the White House here,

coated in snow and waking up to a slushy Washington, D.C. this morning.

I'm Allie Vitale on this Wednesday, February 12th, and we will start with the news. Elon Musk answered questions from the media yesterday for the

first time about his Department of Government efficiency. Musk stood next to President Trump at the

Resolute Desk, attempting to defend the work done so far by his team, which has been

criticized for operating with unchecked power. Musk railed against bureaucracy, calling it an

unelected fourth unconstitutional branch of government, while Musk himself is an unelected appointee

with incredible oversight across the government, doing so from a perch that is not technically even

a government entity. He was also pressed multiple times on his own conflicts of interest

...