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On Thursday, high-profile figures Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will gather on Capitol Hill for private discussions with lawmakers regarding President-elect Donald Trump’s ambitious agenda to “dismantle” the federal government. This meeting highlights Trump’s choice of both entrepreneurs for leadership roles within his Department of Government Efficiency, which has a mission focused on reducing the workforce, cutting various government programs, and curtailing federal regulations. These actions are part of Trump’s “Save America” strategy aimed at his potential second term in office.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who is set to lead a House Oversight subcommittee beginning the new year, expressed optimism about the duo’s involvement, calling it a solid start for efforts to strengthen the relationship between Congress and the DOGE initiative. However, history has shown that significant attempts to downsize the federal government often encounter pushback when vital programs face funding cuts affecting millions of workers, healthcare services, national security, and daily necessities.
In this cycle, Trump has enlisted seasoned advocates for substantial reforms, many of which are detailed in Project 2025, aiming to drastically alter the federal landscape. Musk and Ramaswamy are poised to collaborate with Russ Vought, Trump’s Office of Management and Budget nominee, who previously played a key role in implementing budget reductions.
In an opinion piece featured in The Wall Street Journal, Musk and Ramaswamy highlighted what they consider a pivotal chance to achieve significant structural changes within the federal government, indicating their readiness for significant challenges ahead.
The legislators on Capitol Hill have welcomed Musk and Ramaswamy, with House Speaker Mike Johnson facilitating their initial engagement with congressional members, many of whom are keen to hear their proposals. Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., emphasized his eagerness to take action, alongside Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, in forming the DOGE caucus that includes over 50 Republicans and two Democrats in the House. Bean is planning to establish a tip line for reporting wasteful federal spending and plans to develop a public scoreboard to track cuts made to various government positions and agencies.
On the Senate side, similar initiatives are being pursued by Senators Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Rick Scott, R-Fla. While Musk and Ramaswamy lack conventional political experience, their extensive backgrounds in private industry—including Musk’s significant government contracts—coupled with their strong support for Trump during the campaign, gives them a different perspective on governmental reform.
Musk, a billionaire and a notable figure in the tech world, invested substantial resources into efforts encouraging voter turnout for Trump’s return to the presidency. He is recognized for revamping the platform formerly known as Twitter, now branded X, to cater to Trump’s supporters. Interestingly, the Department of Government Efficiency does not follow the structure of a traditional governmental department, enabling Musk and Ramaswamy to work without undergoing the usual federal employment ethical and background screening processes.
Nonetheless, a good-government organization has noted that, as a presidential advisory panel, DOGE should adhere to commonly accepted standards of transparency and public engagement, similar to advisory boards established from the Reagan administration to the Obama era. They warned that if such a committee were to advocate substantial budget cuts, it must do so through a transparent process that is not skewed in favor of insiders.
The nation’s sizeable federal budget regularly faces deficits, recorded at a staggering $1.8 trillion this year, as reported by the Congressional Budget Office, marking a historic high. It has not been balanced since the Clinton administration over two decades ago.
Generally, Republicans attribute the ongoing deficit to excessive spending, while Democrats counter that tax reductions under Trump and George W. Bush have substantially contributed to the financial gap. Recent figures show that federal receipts remained just under the average for the past 50 years, while expenditures amount to 23.4% of the GDP, exceeding the historical average of 21.1%.
Political discussions surrounding spending have highlighted popular programs that legislators typically hesitate to alter—spending increases in Social Security, Medicare, defense budgets, and veterans’ healthcare have raised concerns about the potential for cuts within these programs. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., expressed a desire to have Musk appear before the House Armed Services Committee to address what he sees as an inflated defense budget, suggesting that Musk be invited to offer cuts.
While Khanna is open to considering non-defense spending changes, he expressed skepticism about feasible cuts in areas critical to public welfare. He emphasized that any proposal to cut educational funding for disadvantaged students or to reduce Social Security benefits would likely provoke significant political backlash, suggesting that such actions could have dire consequences for Republicans in the 2026 elections.
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