Tech billionaire, Elon Musk, whom US President Donald Trump appointed to reduce government cost, said on Thursday that he expects to complete most of his plan to cut $1 trillion in federal spending by the end of his tenure, which could be in just 64 days.
Speaking on Fox Newsโ Special Report with Bret Baier, Musk expressed confidence that his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) could reduce federal spending from about $7 trillion to $6 trillion.
โI think we will accomplish most of the work required to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars within that time frame,โ Musk said when asked about his tenure and the speed of his cost-cutting efforts.
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Musk, the worldโs richest person, was designated by the White House as a โspecial government employee.โ His role is limited to 130 days, meaning his time leading DOGE could end by late May.
He believes the government has excessive waste and inefficiency.
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โThe government is not efficient, and there is a lot of waste and fraud, so we feel confident that a 15% reduction can be done without affecting any of the critical government services,โ he said.
According to DOGE, its actionsโsuch as workforce reductions, asset sales, and contract cancellationsโhave saved US taxpayers $115 billion as of March 24.
However, the savings figure on the DOGE website is unverifiable, and experts have pointed out calculation errors.
Budget analysts argue that Muskโs goal is unattainable without cutting entitlement programs like Social Security, which Trump has pledged not to touch.
The interview was the first time Musk and his top DOGE executives publicly discussed their work.
He was also joined by seven DOGE officials, including Steve Davis, president of Muskโs Boring Company, and Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb.
โUnless this exercise is successful, the ship of America will sink. Thatโs why weโre doing it,โ Musk said.
Musk, who also leads Tesla, sees the initiative as crucial to stabilizing the nationโs finances.
Credit:Tribune