Scott Bessent walked into his Senate affirmation listening to at present with one clear aim: to champion the novel adjustments coming to Washington. The billionaire investor and Donald Trump’s choose for Treasury Secretary didn’t waste time defending Elon Musk’s Division of Authorities Effectivity (D.O.G.E).
Scott declared the division “completely important” to the administration’s financial insurance policies. The division, co-led by Elon and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, is tasked with an impossible-sounding job: minimize a 3rd of the federal finances whereas preserving key applications like Social Safety intact.
Elon’s D.O.G.E plans to rewrite Washington’s rulebook
Elon Musk’s D.O.G.E was born out of an October 2024 rally when Trump introduced the initiative as a centerpiece of his second-term agenda. Standing beside Trump, the eccentric billionaire confidently pledged to scale back the federal finances from $6.5 trillion to $4.5 trillion.
“We’ll simplify, streamline, and save,” Elon stated on the time, drawing cheers from the group. The plan contains wiping out departments just like the IRS and the Division of Training. These cuts, Elon argues, would unlock sources and pave the best way for a leaner authorities. However critics aren’t satisfied.
“There’s no means you narrow $2 trillion with out touching necessary applications like Medicare,” stated one unnamed coverage skilled. And that’s the place issues get sticky. Practically three-quarters of the federal finances is locked into necessary spending.
With Trump promising to not contact these applications, D.O.G.E has solely $1.7 trillion in discretionary spending to work with. Even Elon admits it’s a troublesome highway forward.
Battle of curiosity? Critics eye Elon’s authorities ties
Whereas Elon’s concepts are massive, his enterprise ties are even larger. SpaceX alone holds over $15 billion in federal contracts, and Tesla isn’t far behind. Critics are already crying foul, accusing Elon of utilizing D.O.G.E to learn his personal empire.
“How do you audit the federal government if you’re one among its largest contractors?” requested one skeptical senator throughout the listening to.
Scott disregarded these considerations. “Elon’s monitor file speaks for itself,” he instructed the committee, sidestepping questions on potential conflicts of curiosity. Scott framed Elon as the last word problem-solver, somebody who thrives on disruption. However not everybody in Washington is shopping for it.
There’s additionally the difficulty of authority—or lack of it. D.O.G.E is about up as an advisory physique, which means it has no regulatory energy. Its members will fan out throughout federal businesses to conduct audits and advocate cuts, however nothing they suggest is binding. The success of their work relies upon completely on Trump’s potential to push it via Congress.
And Congress? Let’s simply say they’re not all on board. Political specialists predict a fierce battle as lawmakers dig in to guard their districts and pet initiatives. With out bipartisan help, D.O.G.E might find yourself as nothing greater than a symbolic effort.
Now, Elon and his staff have set an bold deadline for his or her work. By July 4, 2026, they plan to finish a full evaluate of federal businesses and suggest sweeping reforms.
But Scott stays optimistic. He pointed to the division’s deployment plan, which locations groups inside businesses to establish inefficiencies. Particulars of this plan surfaced simply yesterday, elevating eyebrows throughout Washington. The thought of outsiders evaluating federal staff hasn’t gone down properly with profession civil servants, who see it as a direct risk to their jobs.
Including to the skepticism is Elon’s lack of expertise with authorities operations. Whereas he’s a genius within the non-public sector, critics say working Tesla and SpaceX is nothing like managing the federal finances. Public coverage skilled Donald Moynihan described Elon’s strategy as “oversimplified,” focusing extra on cost-cutting than understanding authorities complexities.
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