Elon Musk, the billionaire tech entrepreneur and the man President-elect Donald Trump has tapped to lead a task force on slashing government spending, is adjusting his ambitious goal of cutting at least $2 trillion from the federal budget.
In a recent conversation on X (the platform Musk owns), he shared his thoughts with political strategist Mark Penn, telling him that the $2 trillion target is a best-case scenario.
“If we aim for $2 trillion, we might actually hit $1 trillion,” Musk said, acknowledging that the process won’t be easy.
He continued, explaining that cutting the budget deficit from $2 trillion to $1 trillion could free up the economy for growth. The idea is that as the economy grows, it would keep pace with the money supply — which means no inflation. Musk even called this an epic outcome, if it all works out as planned.
These more realistic expectations come just ahead of Trump’s second-term inauguration, and two weeks before Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy are set to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This new independent advisory body is tasked with finding ways to reduce costs, streamline regulations, and trim the federal workforce.
The clock is ticking though. Musk and Ramaswamy have less than two years to finish their work, as DOGE will come to an end on July 4, 2026 — coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the United States. The goal is to prevent the task force from becoming just another example of government inefficiency.
For fiscal year 2024, the federal budget is a massive $6.75 trillion. A big chunk of that, about $4.65 trillion, goes to programs like Social Security, Medicare, national defense, and veterans’ benefits, plus interest on the national debt, which is currently at $36 trillion. However, President Trump has already ruled out cutting Social Security and Medicare, which limits where savings can be made.
Musk, who had initially proposed the $2 trillion target during a rally in New York, is now facing the harsh realities of the situation. He admitted that it’s tough to save money in a system where people are spending other people’s cash.
“It’s very hard for people to care about spending someone else’s money,” Musk said. “There are people in the government who do care and try their best, but the system stops them.”
At the same time, efforts to cut federal spending in Congress have consistently met resistance. For example, in September 2024, Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky proposed his “Six Penny Plan” — a proposal to cut 6 cents for every dollar projected to be spent over the next five years. This would have saved $329 billion in the first year alone, starting in October 2025. But despite the bold plan, it was shot down with a 39-56 vote.
Musk and the new task force have a tough road ahead, but can they make a real difference in the country’s spending habits? Only time will tell.
