WASHINGTON — It’s DOGE time on the U.S. Capitol.
Billionaire Elon Musk arrived on Capitol Hill on Thursday, anticipated to be joined by fellow entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, for conferences with legislators behind closed doorways about President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to “dismantle” the federal authorities.
Trump tapped the 2 enterprise titans to move his Division of Authorities Effectivity, tasked with firing federal employees, reducing authorities packages and slashing federal rules — all a part of what he calls his “Save America” agenda for a second time period within the White Home.
“I think that’ll be a great start to the whole process,” stated Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who will chair a Home Oversight subcommittee within the new 12 months as a part of “building the bridge between Congress and DOGE.”
Washington has seen this earlier than, with formidable efforts to scale back the scale and scope of the federal authorities that traditionally have run into resistance when the general public is confronted with cuts to trusted packages that tens of millions of People depend upon for jobs, well being care, navy safety and on a regular basis wants.
However this time Trump is staffing his administration with battle-tested architects of sweeping proposals, some outlined in Undertaking 2025, to severely scale back and reshape the federal government. Musk and Ramaswamy stated they plan to work alongside the White Home’s Workplace of Administration and Price range, headed by Trump’s nominee Russ Vought, a mastermind of previous cuts.
“DOGE has a historic opportunity for structural reductions in the federal government,” Musk and Ramaswamy wrote in an op-ed in The Wall Road Journal. “We are prepared for the onslaught.”
The duo had been invited by Home Speaker Mike Johnson to go to Capitol Hill and face a primary check in non-public with Home and Senate lawmakers — some keen to listen to what they take note of.
“I am fired up to go out and do something,” stated Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., who joined with Rep. Pete Periods, R-Texas, in launching what they’re calling the DOGE caucus within the Home, with greater than 50 Republicans and two Democratic members.
Within the Senate, Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa and Rick Scott, R-Fla., have launched an analogous caucus.
Whereas neither Musk nor Ramaswamy have a lot public service expertise, they create observe data in non-public enterprise — Musk’s operations have huge authorities contracts — and enthusiasm for Trump’s agenda, having campaigned alongside him within the ultimate stretch of the election.
The world’s richest man, Musk poured tens of millions right into a get-out-the-vote effort to assist the previous president return to the White Home. He’s recognized politically for having reworked the favored social media web site previously often known as Twitter into X, a platform embraced by Trump’s MAGA lovers.
Regardless of its identify, the Division of Authorities Effectivity is neither a division nor a part of the federal government, which frees Musk and Ramaswamy from having to undergo the everyday ethics and background checks required for federal employment. They stated they won’t be paid for his or her work.
One good-government group has stated that DOGE, as a presidential advisory panel, needs to be anticipated to stick to conventional practices of transparency, equal illustration and public enter — as occurred with comparable advisory entities from the Reagan to the Obama administrations.
The Federal Advisory Committee Act “is designed expressly for situations like this,” wrote Lisa Gilbert and Robert Weissman, the co-chairs of Public Citizen in a letter to the Trump transition staff.
“If the government is going to turn to unelected and politically unaccountable persons to make recommendations as grand as $2 trillion in budget cuts, it must ensure those recommendations come from a balanced and transparent process not rigged to benefit insiders.”
The nation’s $6 trillion federal price range routinely runs a deficit, which this 12 months ran $1.8 trillion, a historic excessive, in line with the Congressional Price range Workplace. It has not been balanced because the Clinton administration greater than 20 years in the past.
Republicans usually blame what they see as exorbitant spending for the deficit, whereas Democrats level to tax cuts enacted underneath Republican presidents Trump and George W. Bush as the most important driver.
Receipts final 12 months as a share of gross home product got here in slightly below the common for the previous 50 years, whereas outlays had been equal to 23.4 % of GDP, in comparison with the 50-year common of 21.1 %
A few of the largest will increase in spending final 12 months occurred with politically fashionable packages that lawmakers will likely be reticent to the touch. For instance, spending on Social Safety advantages went up 8 %, Medicare outlays elevated 9 %, spending on protection went up 7 % and spending on veterans well being care rose 14 %, in line with the Congressional Price range Workplace.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., stated he wish to see Musk testify earlier than the Home Armed Companies Committee on the “bloated defense budget.”
“I’d like to see Elon recommend some cuts. Let’s have him testify,” Khanna stated.
He stated he’s open to listening to proposals on non-defense spending, however was skeptical.
“If they find waste, maybe, but in terms of big numbers, I mean, no one is going to allow for cutting education funding for special needs kids and for low-income schools, or for cutting Social Security and Medicare,” Khanna stated. “If they want to do that, they’re going to hand us a landslide in 2026.”