Elon Musk, the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency in Donald Trump’s presidential administration, has expressed in a new interview his disappointment in Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which the United States House of Representatives approved last week.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is in the news for claiming it has eliminated several Census Bureau surveys and that it will be reviewing others in turn. That may do some good. But how about the US government takes a much bigger step and limits the Census Bureau to conducting the one and only census task provided for in the United States Constitution — a once every ten years census that would take about ten seconds for each person in America to answer?
Many actions associated with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have been met with support from advocates of reducing the size and power of the United States government. Spending has been halted, and US government employment rolls have been reduced. But, is this all leading to a real government reduction or, instead, are the American people being set up for a grand switcheroo?
On November 9, a few days after Donald Trump won election to return to the White House, I wrote an article titled “Defunding NPR.” In the article, I presented reasons why “a spending cut that jumps out as among the most obvious for [Department of Government Efficiency leader Elon Musk] and the incoming Donald Trump administration to pursue is eliminating all US government support for National Public Radio (NPR) and its affiliated programing and radio stations.” Here is an update.
Elon Musk stirred up much hope among many small government advocates when he spoke on stage at Donald Trump’s October 27 presidential campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Musk declared then his expectation that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Musk would go on to run with Vivek Ramaswamy, would reduce yearly United States government spending by “at least two trillion dollars.” This week, Musk let those small government advocates down, reducing by more than half the spending cuts he predicts DOGE will accomplish.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have indicated they desire longtime prominent liberty and limited government advocate Ron Paul to be involved with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that President-elect Donald Trump last week charged Musk and Ramaswamy with running. DOGE is expected to have as a primary objective eliminating at least two trillion dollars of yearly United States government spending.