As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, he is tapping two of his wealthiest supporters, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, to lead efforts to reduce the federal budget. They will head the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with Iowa Senator Joni Ernst leading the push on Capitol Hill.
In a recent op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, Musk and Ramaswamy outlined their plan to cut trillions from the federal budget. Their strategy includes reducing legislation and laying off government workers they deem unnecessary. Senator Ernst, who is spearheading the effort in the Senate, expressed strong support for the initiative.
“I went to Washington, D.C. to make them squeal. So, there is a lot of low-hanging fruit,” Ernst said, referring to areas of government spending that could be easily reduced.
Ernst has also proposed cuts to contracts she believes do not benefit the American people. “We hand off the money to these institutions and agencies expecting that they will have the proper oversight and make sure that the work being done is for the benefit of the American people,” she said.
However, there are significant challenges. While Musk and Ramaswamy aim to use executive actions to implement their plan, experts argue that recent Supreme Court rulings do not grant the president the power to make such cuts without Congressional approval. Howard Gleckman of the Urban Institute cautioned that similar budget-cutting efforts have been attempted in the past, often without success. “They’re just a waste of everybody’s time and a waste of money. So if I were in charge of it, I’d probably shut it down,” Gleckman said.
Senator Ernst, however, is taking a more comprehensive approach. She believes that every federal agency can trim waste, including defense spending. Gleckman agrees, pointing out that Pentagon procurement is notoriously expensive and could be a target for cuts.
To achieve meaningful savings, Gleckman argues that any effort to cut spending must focus on the largest costs: defense and entitlement programs. “The federal government is essentially an insurance company with an army,” he explained, noting that over half of federal spending goes toward programs like Medicare, Social Security, the Veterans Administration, and paying interest on the national debt.
While Social Security is difficult to reform, Gleckman suggests that Medicare could be a potential area for savings. “Medicare payments don’t go to people; they go to doctors, hospitals, and other providers,” he explained.
Despite fluctuating government overspending in recent years, experts predict that without significant changes, federal spending will continue to grow in the future.