MSNBC host Chris Hayes compared billionaire Elon Musk to the “horrible boss” character in the movie Office Space amid his efforts to rein in the size and spending of the federal government.
Hayes made the comparison during a segment on Musk’s directive that all federal employees respond to an email listing five things they accomplished last week, describing the move as unnecessary and punitive.
“All of this just seems to further solidify Musk’s public image as a kind of cultural cliche of like the absolute, ultimate terrible boss. Just the worst boss. Everyone’s had a bad boss in their life, this guy is the worst of them. A supercharged version of Lumbergh or the Bobs from Office Space,” Hayes said on his nightly show.
The host’s comments were first highlighted by Mediate.
President Trump has continued to publicly support Musk’s efforts and said the e-mail ask is designed as a way to make sure people on the federal payroll “actually exist.”
Trump and Musk have vowed to reduce what they say is waste fraud and abuse of the American taxpayer dollar.
The effort has sparked widespread condemnation from Democratic lawmakers, federal labor unions and others in government. Even some Republicans have called for a more respectful approach from Musk’s commission.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-N.D.) said he supports the effort to shrink the federal bureaucracy during a press conference on Tuesday, but advised Musk to keep in mind the human element of cutting jobs and funding.
“I think that any process you undergo where you’re trying to find efficiencies, if that involves reductions in force, it needs to be done in a respectful way, obviously respectful of the people involved,” he told reporters.
