Billionaire Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new Department of Government Efficiency, tasked with “dismantling government bureaucracy, cutting excessive regulations, eliminating wasteful spending and restructuring federal agencies,” President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday.
During the campaign, Trump said the Government Efficiency Initiative would develop a plan to eliminate “fraud and improper payments” by conducting a “thorough financial and performance audit” of the federal government. On Tuesday, Trump said the group would work in partnership with the White House Office of Management and Budget and that its work is expected to be completed by July 4, 2026 — the country’s 250th birthday.
Musk predicted he could cut at least $2 trillion from the U.S. federal budget during Trump’s rally last month at Madison Square Garden, although that amount exceeds the amount Congress spends annually on the operations of government agencies, including defense. This would likely require significant cuts to popular benefit programs such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans benefits.
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In the last fiscal year, the government spent more than $6.75 trillion, with more than $5.3 trillion of that going toward Social Security, Medicare, defense, and veterans benefits — all of which are politically sensitive and notoriously difficult to cut with the support of Congress — in addition to the interest on the debt.
“This will send shockwaves through the system, and to anyone involved in government waste, which includes a lot of people,” Musk said Tuesday in a statement provided by the Trump transition team.
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