Elon Musk Backtracks on Major DOGE Promise—Here’s Why
The post Elon Musk Backtracks on Major DOGE Promise—Here’s Why appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
Elon Musk is backing off his promise to slash $2 trillion in U.S. government spending as co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE—which, yes, shares its acronym with the ticker of Dogecoin, Elon Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency—shortly after the budget-slashing target raised eyebrows among experts on Capitol Hill. In an interview with political strategist Mark Penn on Wednesday, Musk said his extra-governmental belt-tightening initiative—which Donald Trump made official in November—has a “good shot” at making federal budget cuts of up to $1 trillion. That’s roughly half of the $2 trillion that Musk last year promised that DOGE would trim from the government’s balance sheet. A $2 trillion haircut would be the “best-case outcome,” but not necessarily the most likely one, Musk said in the interview aired on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter). “But I do think that you kind of have to have some overage,” Musk added. “I think if we try for $2 trillion, we’ve got a good shot at getting [$1 trillion].” During the interview, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO also returned to familiar talking points about what he deems “wasteful expenditures” by U.S. government agencies. He called the federal government “a target-rich environment for saving money.” “It’s like being in a room full of targets,” Musk said. “You can close your eyes and you can’t miss.” Musk and Trump had teased plans for the Department of Government Efficiency on the campaign trail, and the President-elect formalized the initiative shortly after his election win, putting Musk in charge alongside fellow billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy. The businessmen promised to push for “unglamorous cost-cutting” to the federal budget deficit, which could include slashing support for entitlement programs such as Social Security. “This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in government waste, which is a lot…
Filed under: News - @ January 10, 2025 10:19 pm