Musk and Ramaswamy are eyeing government cuts, but DOGE can only recommend
President-elect Donald Trump has appointed businessmen Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead an advisory panel to support cutting waste, reducing regulations and shrinking the federal workforce.
The US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) can only make recommendations, so its authority is limited. But Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy are talking about cutting $2 trillion from the $7 trillion annual budget, and Mr. Trump is listening.
Why did we write this?
The Department of Government Efficiency is actually an advisory body. President-elect Donald Trump is an ally, but efforts to reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy will face some hurdles.
Some Republicans say this is long overdue. Some Democrats and civil servants worry that this could destroy crucial institutional expertise.
DOGE, which expires in less than two years, can do its job in several ways. The first is to recommend that Trump take executive action, for example, to order the repeal of certain regulations. But this process can take more than a year, and people can file a lawsuit to keep the regulation in place.
It can also work with Congress to try to make changes. But Republicans’ narrow majority in the House of Representatives means they may need Democratic support.
Or it could do things like recommend that Mr. Trump implement a mandatory five-day work week to incentivize federal employees to quit.
The $2 trillion goal represents nearly a third of the federal budget, and even many of Mr. Musk’s supporters question whether it is within reach.
Shortly after winning the US presidential election, Donald Trump announced the creation of the Government Efficiency Administration. Led by entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, DOGE will have the mission of incentivizing government downsizing by recommending where to cut waste, trim regulations, and trim the federal workforce.
Some Republicans say this is long overdue, while some Democrats and civil servants worry it will dilute the institutional expertise necessary for effective government services.
The word “management” is a misnomer – the DOGE would be an advisory body, lacking direct authority. The plan is to work with the Office of Management and Budget and make recommendations to the president and perhaps to Congress. But its co-chairs appear to have ambitious plans: Mr. Ramaswamy said that if the department had a mascot, it would be a chainsaw.
Why did we write this?
The Department of Government Efficiency is actually an advisory body. President-elect Donald Trump is an ally, but efforts to reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy will face some hurdles.
How much has government grown in recent decades?
The number of people employed by the federal government has not changed much since World War II, although employment funded by federal contracts and grants has grown. Congress has also created a host of new agencies since then, and the Code of Federal Regulations has swelled from just under 10,000 pages in 1950 to 185,984 pages in 2019.
has the national debt Almost doubled Since 2015 it now stands at $35 trillion, or 122% of the gross domestic product of the United States. The debt grew by about $7.8 trillion in Mr. Trump’s first term, and is expected to grow by a slightly higher number by the time President Joe Biden finishes his term. However, experts caution that these numbers could reflect pre-existing laws and conditions outside the president’s control.
Many federal employees have not returned to their offices since the pandemic, and as of the summer of 2023, the government was still paying for 17 agency headquarters that were at 25% capacity or less, according to the Government Accountability Office. a report. Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy argue that unelected bureaucrats, and the size of government, make federal spending unaccountable to voters — a situation they described as “antithetical to the founders’ vision” in The Wall Street Journal. Editorial.
What does DOGE hope to do?
Mr. Musk suggested that $2 trillion could be cut from the roughly $7 trillion annual federal budget. He and his co-chair will have less than two years to complete their work: the department has set a deadline of July 4, 2026, so as not to become another example of bloated government. The proposed DOGE cut is ambitious enough that even many of Mr. Musk’s supporters are wondering if it is within reach.
Plans to attack government spending are wide-ranging. DOGE’s The co-chairs also proposed ideas for reducing the number of federal employees, with Mr. Ramaswamy saying he expects some agencies to be “completely eliminated.” Other stated goals range from Medicare payments to funding for Planned Parenthood.
Politicians have their own proposals for cuts. Republican Senator Joni Ernst sent the co-chairs a detailed “list” before Thanksgiving that included reductions in government rent for vacant office buildings and money spent on money creation (it found that earning a penny costs the government three cents). California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders have expressed hope that DOGE will help reduce defense spending.
What do Musk and Ramaswamy bring to this initiative?
Mr. Musk’s companies have a mixed record of efficiency. His social media platform X has seen its value drop by 75% since he laid off 6,000 workers, or nearly 80% of staff, two years ago. His electric car company Tesla’s profits have been up and down lately. Mr. Musk has come into direct confrontation with the Federal Aviation Administration over regulations surrounding rocket launches at his company SpaceX, which has received nearly $20 billion in federal government contracts since 2008.
Mr. Ramaswamy founded a pharmaceutical company that earned him a fortune. he Advocates of libertarian valuesDuring the 2023 campaign, he pledged to cut more than 75% of the federal workforce.
“We are entrepreneurs, not politicians,” the two men wrote in their op-ed. But working with the federal government will present challenges. Because DOGE’s role is advisory, co-leaders will not be able to make the kind of direct changes they did as CEOs. If they want to work with Congress, they will have to win over members who may reject spending cuts in their districts.
However, supporters say these two executives should not be underestimated. Mr. Musk appears to have the ear of Mr. Trump, which will be crucial in turning the advisory panel’s recommendations into practical change. The president-elect has invited Mr Musk to high-level meetings and praised him during his 2024 victory speech.
How feasible are Musk and Ramaswamy’s plans?
Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy say they will provide Mr. Trump with a list of regulations for the chopping block. Mr. Trump could then use executive action to order an agency to begin the process of rescinding the regulation. This can take more than a year, and includes the required analysis of the impact of the proposed change and public comment. If the change is approved, people who took advantage of the regulation would likely file a lawsuit. Susan Dudley, founder of the George Washington Center for Regulatory Studies, says the co-chairs will need to “do their homework” to avoid protracted legal battles.
The co-chairs say they rely heavily on two recent Supreme Court decisions that limit agencies’ ability to create and interpret regulations, which are based on laws passed by Congress. The DOGE co-chairs hope the courts will rule that the regulations they are targeting have no basis in law.
It is possible that the two men will try to work with Congress, which can pass laws to repeal regulations, or change or slow the way regulations are created. But Republicans hold a slim majority in Congress, so Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy may have to develop a strategy to rally bipartisan support.
This is not an exhaustive list of options. For example, Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy could recommend that Mr. Trump implement a mandatory five-day in-person work week, which could prompt federal employees, many of whom are still working from home, to quit. They could also move the headquarters of various agencies outside the Capitol. Both are ideas recently proposed by the co-chairs.