Musk Revises Federal Budget Cut Goal to $1 Trillion

Elon Musk, co-leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with Vivek Ramaswamy under President-elect Donald Trump, has revised his ambitious goal of cutting $2 trillion from the federal budget to a more realistic target of $1 trillion. Initially proposed as a 'best-case outcome,' the $2 trillion target was criticized by experts as unrealistic without impacting major programs like Social Security or Medicare. Despite lacking direct authority, DOGE, inspired by the meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin, aims to influence policy through recommendations by identifying wasteful government expenditures. Musk remains optimistic about achieving significant savings, describing the government as 'a target-rich environment' and aligning his goal with reducing government spending to curb inflation by matching economic growth with money supply increases. Criticism and skepticism persist, with some viewing Musk's initial promises as overly ambitious or impractical.