Billionaire Elon Musk said Wednesday that his budget-cutting effort on behalf of President-elect Donald Trump would likely not find $2 trillion in savings, backtracking on a goal he previously set as co-chair of the new advisory body, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
According to the interview aired on the social network X, Musk indicated to political strategist Mark Penn that the $2 billion figure was the “best possible outcome” and that he thought there was only a “good chance” of cutting it in half.
It is worth noting that Musk's estimate is a significant reduction from his previous vision. For reference, at a Donald Trump political rally held at New York's Madison Square Garden on October 27, Musk expressed that he could cut the federal budget by “at least $2 trillion dollars.”
“What if we created DOGE? How much do you think you could get out of this wasted $6.5 billion Harris Biden budget?” Howard Lutnick asked in October. “I think we could get at least $2 billion out of it,” Elon Musk replied.
On the other hand, at the time of Musk's statement, experts quickly dismissed that figure as “implausible” and said the total discretionary budget was only $1.7 billion.
Moreover, Elon Musk had not ruled out that figure as of Wednesday, and it has been widely cited in reports on DOGE's plans.
Importantly, Musk, along with former Republican presidential candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, are the leaders of the budget-cutting effort, DOGE, which Trump appointed in November, fulfilling a campaign promise to give broad oversight of U.S. government spending.
Notably, experts have said that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, would have to propose cuts to mandatory programs such as “Medicaid,” the health care program for the poor, to achieve significant savings. Moreover, Elon Musk himself has also warned that cuts could mean “hardship” for some.
On the other hand, Mark Penn, the former advisor to President Bill Clinton, expressed in the recent interview that Clinton managed to balance the federal budget towards the end of his term in the White House and asked Elon Musk about his plans.
“I think we'll try to get $2 billion. I think that's the best possible outcome.” Musk said. “But I think you need to have a surplus, I think if we try to get $2 billion, we have a good chance of getting $1 billion, that's $1 billion in spending cuts,” he added.
However, Musk did not concede early defeat and noted that he could still help Trump achieve “an epic result.”
“If we can reduce the budget deficit from $2 trillion to $1 trillion and free up the economy to have additional growth, so that the production of goods and services keeps pace with the increase in the money supply, then there will be no inflation. So, I think, that would be an epic outcome.” Musk said.
In addition, Penn also asked if Musk had identified any cuts that they are actually considering that they believe will be successful. However, Musk did not mention any specific cuts, but said that, in general, “this is an environment with a lot of targets to save money.”
It is important to note that the DOGE advisory panel, has no official authority and is expected to make recommendations to the White House after Donald Trump is sworn in for a second term.
Source: Isaac Suarez / Cryptotrend.
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