DOGE: How Elon Musk could use his new meme ‘section’ to target government employees and programs

President-elect Donald Trump gave two of his most ardent billionaire supporters, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, control of the so-called… Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) With it is a supposed mandate to “dismantle government bureaucracy, reduce excess regulatory restrictions, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies.” According to the announcement, DOGE will be an advisory department that operates “outside government” while collaborating with the White House and the Office of Management and Budget to implement its agenda.

Both men have expressed ambitious ideas about how to use their new powers, whatever they may be.

Musk bragged that DOGE, in reference to his favorite cryptocurrency Dogecoin, would send “shockwaves through the system and anyone involved in government waste, which is a lot of people!” for him Frequent suggestion A reduction in government spending of nearly a third, or $2 trillion, is bested only by Ramaswamy Special suggestion To cut up to 75% of the federal workforce.

This reduction in the federal government would severely disrupt services essential to national stability and the functioning of society, including quality control of consumer goods and medicines, background checks for firearm purchases, social and economic safety nets for working and middle-class Americans, and law enforcement and policing. Special education programs. Musk admitted that his plans will catch up.discomfort“On Americans; austerity measures in other countries have led to… High poverty rates and Economic instability.

However, some government experts note that DOGE faces significant barriers to implementing the Musk-Ramaswamy hypothetical agenda.

First, it’s unclear how Musk will plan to cut $2 trillion when two-thirds of the $6.7 trillion federal budget goes to the $6.7 trillion federal budget. Mandatory spending Through programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, while discretionary spending is largely used for military and defense programs that neither Democrats nor Republicans have much desire to reduce. Trump, for his part, did just that He denied any intention He cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid even though he has a history of going back on his promises and pledges Proposed 2020 budget He was going to cut all three.

Any severe budget cuts or elimination of the two agencies that Musk and Ramaswamy may have in their sights would require approval from Congress, where Republicans only have a slim majority in the House and must, for now, contend with a potential Democratic filibuster in the Senate. And it’s not just Democrats who can thwart their plans — Republicans who favor cutting government overall may also object to a number of cuts that would hurt or anger their constituents, and many of their districts benefit from that. Agricultural subsidiesmilitary bases, public works projects, and clean energy programs.

In 2023, A.J Brookings Institution study It found that in the 117th Congress (2021-2023), Republicans on average requested $20 million more in federal appropriations for their districts than Democrats. For members of both parties, it is often a successful allocation of funds He is rewarded with re-election By its beneficiaries.

Trump still has a number of options to enact DOE proposals without congressional approval, including a plan to use Schedule F to reclassify federal employees as political appointees and fire them, or simply make their jobs more uncomfortable. Zoe Schiffer, technology journalist and book author “Extremely Extreme: Inside Elon Musk’s Twitter” He said List And Musk would welcome these types of methods. “He was willing to take a certain amount of pain if it meant he wouldn’t have to pay a premium in terms of people’s salaries and equity,” she said of his Twitter style.

Trump aides are also exploring ways to do so Appealing the 1974 Budget Law This, if overturned, would allow Trump to make unilateral cuts, which would require congressional approval. Ramaswamy has Express support For this approach, publicly call on Congress to repeal the law and propose alternative solutions if that fails.

Neither Musk nor Ramaswamy have provided a clear map of what they will cut and how they will do it, but they have offered individual hints and suggestions in the past. Musk has often targeted the Department of Education, calling it a left-wing indoctrination tool, but has yet to call for its removal. Ramaswamy was more specific, saying on the 2024 campaign trail It would at least shut down the Department of Education, the FBI, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. If he persists in his desire to cut 75% of the federal workforce, he will have to dismantle the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security, which together employ about 60% of civilians working in the government.

On Thursday, America’s official X account, Elon Musk’s Super PAC, List of programs published She claimed that $900 billion in taxpayer dollars had been “wasted” and that DOGE would “fix” including “Dr. Fauci’s Monkey Business on NIH’s Monkey Island,” “DOD’s Lobster Tank,” and “Real Fake”: the first DHS. A graphic novel about disinformation.” While the creative language sheds little light on what these programs actually entail, Musk seems to want to take the axe to a host of government-sponsored science projects that he may or may not understand and that add up To much less than any federal entitlement program.

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Putting the DOGE outside of government exempts it from the congressional approval process, but may put it under the government’s umbrella Federal Advisory Committee Actwhich sets rules for how outside groups operate and are accountable to the public, and means that, to begin with, the department would have no direct authority over the operations of the federal government. The lack of clarity has raised questions about how it will be funded, as some Trump advisers have done Suggested Asking Congress for $35 to $50 million to fund or solicit private donations for an office he heads that is not really part of the government, but still, in theory, has oversight of the government, including Federal agencies that regulate And for her Investigation Musk companies.

Regardless, Musk and Ramaswamy are moving forward with their appointments, using language that suggests their project is a cornerstone of Trump’s agenda during his second term.

“We need extremely intelligent, small-government revolutionaries who are willing to work 80+ hours a week for unattractive cost-cutting,” one post said: statement From DOGE’s official X account, which actually carries the gray check used to indicate a government body. Interested parties should send a message to DOGE immediately after paying Musk the first X subscription fee.

Musk’s tithing appears to be a hallmark of a project that has so far revealed few specific details about what will be cut, but promises to reap significant personal benefits for its appointed bosses. The mere idea of ​​DOGE has caused the value of Dogecoin, Musk’s favorite cryptocurrency, to soar. If the DOGE project comes to fruition, Musk and Ramaswamy will have a formal channel to advise Trump on who is or is not deserving of government funding, even as their companies benefit from it. Huge federal subsidies.

This conflict of interest is not the only contradiction that exists. For all of Trump’s rants against “unelected bureaucrats” with political influence, he has now appointed two unelected billionaires to propose changes to the very agencies that regulate and finance their companies. It remains to be seen how this will come to fruition, and whether the participants will be able to get along.