From 1 trillion to 150 billion: Musk sharply reduced DOGE's goals for savings in the federal budget

Entrepreneur and billionaire Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under President Donald Trump, said his team intends to save the US state budget $150 billion in one fiscal year. This will be a serious departure from the initial goal, when it came to cutting one trillion dollars, writes The New York Times.

Details

During the 2024 presidential campaign, Elon Musk, supporting Trump, said he could cut federal budget spending by two trillion dollars. After Trump took office and appointed Musk as head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which deals with budget cuts, the entrepreneur lowered his own forecast by half, to one trillion dollars in the next fiscal year.

At a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Musk set an even lower goal for his team.

I am pleased to announce that we expect savings in '26 from cost reduction and fraud prevention of $150 billion

Musk's group has cut budgets and laid off thousands of employees across Washington, but so far the DOGE website indicates that it is still far from achieving its goal of saving one trillion dollars next year.

As of Thursday, the site claimed $150 billion in savings, with a detailed list of some of the alleged cuts.

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It is currently unclear whether Musk meant that $150 billion is only what his team has found so far. If so, savings of one trillion dollars are still possible.

But there is also the option that this $150 billion is all she expects to find. A White House representative said that savings of one trillion dollars remains a "goal".

Unlike the previous cabinet meeting, during which Trump invited Musk to speak at the beginning, Thursday's meeting began with the president asking Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to speak.

Musk spoke later and briefly. In his speech, Musk was asked how he finds fraud in the government, the entrepreneur replied:

Actually, just look in any direction - that's how you'll find it

He described it as a "target-rich environment". But the website Musk's group used to advertise its savings was riddled with errors, including triple-counting the same cancellations and taking credit for cuts to programs that ended during the George W. Bush administration.

Musk's critics outside the administration, including Stephen K. Bannon, an ultra-right politician and former senior White House official under Trump, have publicly stated that the cost-cutting efforts are correct, but Musk is unlikely to achieve a trillion-dollar cost cut.

Addition

In the US, Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) uses artificial intelligence to identify employees of federal agencies who criticize President Donald Trump.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk's fortune fell below $300 billion for the first time since November 2024.