Elon Musk has revised his original plan to cut $2 trillion from US government spending through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a new initiative he co-heads that shares its acronym with Dogecoin
The figure, initially announced after the program’s creation in November 2024 by Donald Trump, has been adjusted to a $1 trillion target.
Musk shared these updates during an interview on X with Mark Penn, the CEO of Stagwell, on January 9.
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Musk acknowledged that the $2 trillion goal was a “best-case outcome” and that halving it still represents an achievement.
He stated that aiming high increases the chances of reaching a meaningful reduction. He noted in the interview, “I think if we try for $2 trillion, we’ve got a good shot at getting [$1 trillion]”.
During the discussion, Musk criticized what he sees as excessive government spending, describing the federal budget as “a target-rich environment for saving money”.
Critics, however, have pointed out limitations. Experts say the discretionary budget of the federal government is $1.7 trillion.
Furthermore, DOGE lacks the legal authority to implement changes directly and relies instead on making recommendations to the Trump administration.
Musk has remained optimistic, as he described his goal of halving the budget deficit as an “epic outcome”.
He suggested that reducing the deficit from $2 trillion to $1 trillion could boost economic growth and help stabilize inflation by aligning the production of goods and services with monetary policy.
Meanwhile, Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum
