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Planned Parenthood is preparing to face off with Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency after it identified the reproductive health provider as fat to be trimmed.
Musk and his co-lead, former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, have been laying out their plans for their federal budget-trimming effort in recent weeks.
Musk and Ramaswamy said in an op-ed this week that they are eying everything from "$1.5 billion for grants to international organizations to nearly $300 million to progressive groups like Planned Parenthood."
In response, Alexis McGill Johnson, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, referred to Musk, Ramaswamy, and others President-election Donald Trump has nominated for leadership positions after his election as "unqualified fanboys and agents of chaos."
"Musk and Ramaswamy are making clear how they intend to use their power: denying people care and wreaking havoc on our public health system, of which Planned Parenthood is an integral part — all in the name of supposed 'government efficiency,'" McGill Johnson said. "We've been here before — we are not new to shutdown and 'defund' fights. We fended off a number of these attacks during Trump's first term — and Planned Parenthood health centers are still there serving millions of patients across the nation."
In a press release, the organization said its health centers saw a surge in appointments following Trump's reelection, including a 1,200% increase in vasectomy appointments and a 760% in IUD appointments.
Wisp, an online provider of reproductive health products and prescriptions, said it has also seen increased demand after the election, including a 1,000% increase in emergency contraception sales.
Planned Parenthood said in the press release that more than half of the patients who go to its health centers rely on Medicaid and other government programs for the uninsured.
"Like any other healthcare provider or hospital, Planned Parenthood affiliates are reimbursed for services provided to patients at health centers. What Musk and Ramaswamy call 'federal overspending' provides critical and necessary sexual and reproductive healthcare to thousands of people every day — care that will disappear if they get their way," McGill Johnson said.
While Musk and Ramaswamy have been busy making plans to cut federal spending, the new department doesn't exist yet and has been given no official power.
Douglas Holtz-Eakin, the former director of the Congressional Budget Office, told Business Insider that, as of now, DOGE has no authority granted to it by Congress or the president.
"It's somebody's idea of a fantasy, but it's not a real thing so far. It has a name, two supposed heads, it has no staff and most importantly, it has no authorities," Holtz-Eakin told BI. "So it's essentially an extremely highly publicized think tank that's going to collect some ideas for the Office of Management and Budget."
