After originally promising to slash federal funding by $2 trillion using the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Elon Musk now says that might not be possible.
Musk’s promise of cutting trillions off of the federal budget has formed an integral part of his goals for the Department of Government Efficiency. During a rally for now-President-elect Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Oct. 27, Musk said he could slash the federal budget by trillions.
In an interview broadcasted on X, formerly Twitter, Musk told political strategist Mark Penn that the figure of $2 trillion was a “best-case outcome,” instead suggesting there is a “good shot” at cutting close to $1 trillion instead.
“I think we’ll try for $2 trillion. I think that’s the best-case outcome,” Musk said. “But I do think that you kind of have to have some overage. I think if we try for $2 trillion, we’ve got a good shot at getting 1 [trillion].”
During the 2024 fiscal year, the federal government spent $6.75 trillion dollars, according to data from the U.S. Treasury.
The Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE, is an advisory panel that is expected to make recommendations during Trump’s second term.
DOGE refers to a cryptocurrency championed by Musk, the richest person in the world.
Trump appointed allies Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to run it.
“This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!” Musk said in a statement distributed by the Trump transition team back in November.
The panel has no official authority, but its expected recommendations will revolve around cutting the federal budget. Musk has said he would eliminate 30% of spending in the $6 trillion budget, and Ramaswamy has said he wants to lay off half of all federal workers.
In a virtual town hall in October, Musk said cuts could mean “temporary hardship” for some.
“We have to reduce spending to live within our means,” Musk said. “And, you know, that necessarily involves some temporary hardship, but it will ensure long-term prosperity.”
During the interview Wednesday, Penn asked Musk if he had any specific cuts in mind, but Musk did not specify any cuts instead saying that the federal budget is a “very target-rich environment for saving money.”
But Ramaswamy, Musk’s co-chair, has identified the U.S. Department of Education as a place for cuts.
“Our Dept of Education blows $$ without accountability,” Ramaswamy wrote in a post on social media in November. “Unelected bureaucrats are the core problem.”
More than two million civilians are working in the federal government today, data from the White House reveals. No other company or organization in the U.S. employs more workers.
That number of employees is up 7% since 2019, according to the Partnership for Public Service. That’s attributable to hiring construction and engineering staff to run projects funded by 2022’s infrastructure bill.
Of civilian federal employees, 70% work in agencies with ties to national security—the Department of Veterans Affairs (with close to half a million employees), the Department of Homeland Security, the Armed Services, and the Department of Justice, according to reporting from Reuters.
Apart from paying civilian workers, the budget also covers other aspects like Social Security, Medicare and veterans benefits, among others. According to data from the U.S. Treasury, 20% of the 2025 fiscal year budget was proportioned for social security, with 14% for national defense.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
