Elon Musk Wants to Reduce Federal Spending With the Help of Tech Bros, Not Economists

If politicians and economists are unable to get the economy back on track, can technologists do it instead? Tesla CEO Elon Musk appears to believe this. Alongside biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, he’s begun assembling a team to implement significant federal cuts. However, saying and doing are two different things.

DOGE. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a project Musk has been discussing since before the election, aims to cut the federal government budget by $2 trillion. This staggering figure represents an extremely optimistic vision, especially considering the current budget is $7 trillion.

No economy experts. To achieve this ambitious goal, Musk and Ramaswamy are making high-profile hires. However, they’re not bringing on people with a background in government or economics. Instead, they’re recruiting individuals from the technology sector.

High-profile hires. Among these new recruits are Antonio Gracias, an investor and former Tesla executive; Steve Davis, president of The Boring Company; Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale; investors Marc Andreessen and Bill Ackman; and former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.

None of these individuals has experience in government administration. According to The Wall Street Journal, Andreessen will lead the recruitment effort to kickstart the ambitious budget-cutting project. Both Gracias and Davis previously assisted Musk in making significant workforce reductions at Twitter (now X) shortly after his takeover.

“Minister of profitability.” Although DOGE isn’t officially established at the moment, Musk would take on a de facto role focused on eliminating anything that’s not profitable for the U.S. government. As such, DOGE will provide advice and consultancy to implement significant cost-cutting measures.

Criticism from experts. The Wall Street Journal reports that several financial and legal experts believe Musk’s goals may be overly ambitious. Among the plans proposed by Musk and Ramaswamy are the rescission of “thousands” of government regulations and a reduction in the federal workforce. Many companies and jobs depend heavily on federal regulations and spending, which means the impacts of these measures could be substantial.

Richard Pierce, a professor at George Washington University, told the outlet that Musk and Ramaswamy are “utterly ignorant” of the complexities of federal legislation. He added that repealing existing laws is much more complicated than their public rhetoric suggests.

$2 trillion by 2026. During President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign, Musk proposed cutting the budget by $2 trillion. In an official statement, Trump announced that this should be done by July 4, 2026 to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.

The $2 trillion figure seems ambitious, especially considering the current budget is around $7 trillion. These spending cuts could affect popular programs like Social Security or Medicare. Trump indicated he wouldn’t touch these services as part of his election promises.

An advisory body. Musk’s comments imply that DOGE could have decision-making authority. However, even with Trump’s backing, DOGE’s proposed measures will likely require approval of government supervision. In fact, Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) might be appointed to lead an official department to oversee these proposals. Whether DOGE and its team of Silicon Valley leaders will actually influence the American economy remains to be seen.

Image | Christian Lucas

Related | Elon Musk Is Looking for People to Work at DOGE. Here's What He's Offering: Tedious Work, Lots of Enemies, and Zero Pay