Billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy met with Republican lawmakers on Thursday to discuss sweeping spending cuts requested by President-elect Donald Trump. The two entrepreneurs have been appointed co-chairs of a task force aimed at overhauling the U.S. government, which spent $6.8 trillion in the last fiscal year. Musk has proposed $2 trillion in savings but has not clarified the timeline.
The task force, named the Department of Government Efficiency, plans to cut regulations, lay off thousands of federal workers, and eliminate expired programs like veterans’ healthcare. However, changes to popular programs, including veterans’ benefits, are expected to face significant resistance.
Senator John Thune expressed support for the initiative, calling it long overdue. Musk, accompanied by a child at the Capitol, provided limited specifics but emphasized the need to spend public funds wisely. He also advocated for ending all electric vehicle tax credits, despite his companies benefiting from federal contracts and tax breaks.
Ramaswamy separately met with Senate Republicans, discussing administrative actions that could bypass Congress. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and other Republican lawmakers voiced their willingness to collaborate.
While Republicans will control Congress and the White House, achieving significant spending cuts remains challenging. Mandatory spending on health and pension programs and interest payments, which lawmakers cannot control, dominate the federal budget. Additionally, Trump has pledged not to cut Social Security or Medicare, which comprise over a third of federal spending.
Republicans have struggled to deliver on past spending cuts, and Trump’s first term saw federal expenditures grow significantly.
