Musk Put a Spotlight on Federal Spending, but Cut Less than He Wanted
- Elon Musk led the Department of Government Efficiency until May 31, 2025, aiming to reduce federal spending in Washington, D.C.
- Musk initially targeted $2 trillion in savings but cut the goal to $1 trillion amid challenges and criticism about unforced errors.
- Experts criticized Musk's chaotic approach, noting cuts sometimes harmed administration priorities and lacked methodical planning compared to past efforts.
- Grover Norquist said Musk’s work “found a cancer cell” highlighting issues, while Cato's Nowrasteh called mistakes avoidable with better legal expertise.
- Musk's effort eliminated thousands of jobs but failed to slow government spending growth and is expected to fall short of Clinton-era savings.
32 Articles
32 Articles
The third Wednesday in May is accountability day, the day on which the General Audit Office presents its assessment of government expenditure over the past year. The conclusion is that almost all government expenditure has been spent lawfully, but that money is also left on the shelf and policy goals are not being achieved.

Musk put a spotlight on federal spending, but cut less than he wanted
Billionaire Elon Musk is expected to fall far short of even his most modest goal of shaving $150 billion from the federal deficit, having publicly opined last year that he could identify $2 trillion, roughly the size of the federal deficit.
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