- D. Trump is trusting E. Musk's DOGE: the team should save 2 trillion dollars
- Despite being called a "department," DOGE is not an official government agency
- Since 2003, government agencies have made an estimated $2.7 trillion in improper payments
D. Trump is trusting E. Musk's DOGE: the team should save 2 trillion dollars
In recent years, the financial situation of the United States has been in not-so-good condition. The government lost billions of dollars to improper payments and fraud last year alone. The news that the Pentagon failed yet another audit also raised questions and demand for new policies.
Some experts think Donald Trump and his newly appointed team, DOGE with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, can win quickly[1]. It is expected that DOGE will slash billions of dollars in fraud and federal programs. Cutting fraud by upgrading data and technology systems could be one of the ways.
The due have an opportunity to take on fraud and corruption once D. Trump steps into office. The Department of Government Efficiency and the Advisory Group aim to reduce the country's waste from government spending. E. Musk has already set a goal of identifying 2 trillion dollars to cut from the federal budget.
Soon after D. Trump won the election, he announced the formation of a new team. Soon after winning the U.S. presidential election, Donald Trump announced the creation of a new advisory body called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The initiative aims to streamline the federal government.
The primary goal of DOGE is to identify areas where government spending can be reduced, regulations can be simplified, and the federal workforce can be downsized. Reactions to DOGE have been mixed. While many Republicans see it as a necessary move to cut government waste, some Democrats and civil servants have expressed concern.
Despite being called a "department," DOGE is not an official government agency
It will act as an advisory group without direct authority to enforce changes. Instead, it will work closely with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and present its recommendations to the president and possibly to Congress.
However, the ambitions of its co-chairs suggest they have big changes in mind. Vivek Ramaswamy humorously suggested that if DOGE had a mascot, it would be a chainsaw — a nod to their intention of aggressively cutting waste[2].
One of DOGE’s first potential targets is fraud within federal programs, particularly Medicare. Tackling fraud could be a rare opportunity for bipartisan support.
In a recent interview with CNBC, Ramaswamy stated that "the dirty little secret is that many of those entitlement dollars aren't even going to people who they were supposed to be going to in the first place." He claimed that the government could save "hundreds of billions of dollars by improving fraud prevention."
Elon Musk echoed this sentiment, highlighting the scale of the problem. In a November post on X (formerly Twitter), Musk remarked, "The sheer magnitude & audacity of government fraud is mind-blowing!"
Since 2003, government agencies have made an estimated $2.7 trillion in improper payments
Data from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) supports their concerns. The number of government employees has not changed for a while. But federal and grant-funded employment has grown. Congress also created other agencies. The national debt has nearly doubled since the year 2015 an now sits at 35 trillion dollars.
In the 2023 fiscal year alone, the GAO reported $236 billion in such payments. However, it’s important to note that not all of these payments result from fraud. According to Orice Williams Brown, the GAO's chief operating officer, improper payments also include mistakes like administrative errors, which aren't necessarily linked to fraudulent activity[3].
Musk suggests cutting those two trillion from the annual 7 trillion federal annual budget is possible. However, the newly-formed team has around two years to get to its goals. This department has a ct of date - July 4th, 2026. It is not surprising why they make plans and huge statements now.
These goals of major cuts are ambitious, and even supporters question if these are reachable. The plan to attack government spending is broad enough. It is promised that the DOGE duo is planning on cutting federal workers and even deleting some agencies completely.
The first targeted are Medicare and Planned Parenthood. However, other politicians already have a few possible targets to suggest. Republican Joni Ernst has already sent her propositions to the duo. Democrats Ro Khanna and Bernie Sanders expressed their hopes that DOGE can make a positive change that US needs.
As DOGE takes shape, the public will be watching closely to see if it can deliver on its promise to make government more efficient. While its mission to root out fraud has broad appeal, its broader goals of reducing the federal workforce and cutting regulations are likely to spark ongoing debate.
