On Thursday, tech mogul Elon Musk revealed plans to exit his Trump administration position by May’s end, having driven a staggering $1 trillion cut in the US deficit. Appointed as a “special government employee” for 130 days, the 53-year-old has led the charge in trimming federal expenses as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief.
Musk: A Government Game-Changer
In the Fox News chat, Musk described his role as a historic transformation in how governments manage money. “This is a total game-changer. It could be the biggest shake-up since the founding of America,” he told Bret Baier. “Ultimately, it’s setting the country up for an incredible future.”
Known for heading Tesla and SpaceX and owning X, Musk has drawn both applause and flak for his bold cost-slashing tactics. Packed with engineers and business minds, DOGE has axed thousands of government jobs and slashed budgets across multiple programs.
Musk Sticks to 130-Day Plan
When pressed about extending his role, Musk insisted his mission would wrap up on schedule. “I’m confident we’ll hit our goal of trimming the deficit by $1 trillion within those 130 days,” he said. According to DOGE’s website, as of March 27, they’ve already saved $130 billion, or about $807 per taxpayer.
Targeting Waste:’‘15% Is Doable’’
Musk, along with his seven-member DOGE team of Steve Davis, Joe Gebbia, Aram Moghaddassi, Brad Smith, Anthony Armstrong, Tom Krause, and Tyler Hassen, shared their approach to eliminating Waste and Fraud, stating, “We want to cut expenditures by 15%, which seems completely doable” Musk explained. “The government is fat and grossly inefficient. We can trim it without damaging essential services”.
Federal Credit Cards:’It’s Ridiculous’’
One eyebrow-raising focus? Government credit cards. DOGE’s Steve Davis pointed out there are 4.6 million cards for just 2.3 to 2.4 million workers. “It’s ridiculous,” Davis said. “We’ve been asking agencies: Do you need all these? Are they even in use? Where are they?” Musk chimed in, “It’s nuts more cards than people? That’s a no-brainer fix.”
Pushback from Critics
Not everyone is on board. Some have said that DOGE got too much latitude and not enough checks, throwing accusations at Musk’s team for ditching contracts and cutting budgets without Congressional approval. Musk brushed it off. “They call it reckless, but we’re meticulous,” he said. “We sometimes double-triple-check before we act.”
He confessed mistakes happen. “We’re not perfect. Expecting zero mistakes is like asking a batter to hit every pitch. It’s not feasible. When we goof, we fix it fast and keep moving.”