Elon Musk asked Donald Trump three different times at a livestream in August 2024 to create a new government cost cut project. The stream occurred in the X spaces during Trump's campaign.
Elon told him, “We need a government efficiency commission.” Trump ignored him and started talking about military formation. Elon had poured the road to the million to choose from.
Eight months later, Trump finally gave up. That commission became a Doge, a budget that crushed the budget managed by Elon, named into a meme coin, and filled with random engineers in their 20s. In just 100 days, DOGE started the federal government.
And yet after all they cut, federal spending still went up. DOGE should be saving US $ 2 trillion. Elon said it saved $ 160 billion to this day. But total government spending rose 6.3% – or $ 156 billion – in Trump's first four months back to office compared at the same period last year.
Although inflation is fitted, it still has $ 81.2 billion in spending than 2024. That data comes from the Penn Wharton budget model, which tracks the weekly Treasury Numbers.
Doge Nuked Department. The federal worker was damaged in 1960 levels. Nearly 250,000 workers either stopped or fired. This included more than 112,000 to join the “Deferred Resignation” scheme and another 121,000 removed.
DOGE CUTED DEPARTMENT During the expenditure increase
Elon built his dog squad before Trump walked to the White House. Nearly 40 staff were selected, most of them with backgrounds in engineering, crypto, venture capital, or internet infrastructure. Not public service.
Elon hid his titles in Tesla, Spacex, and X, and still had billions of government contracts. He is everywhere: Oval office, cabinet meetings, which run the whole thing like another tech company.
The first place to fall is USAID, the US agency for international development. The Doge doubled it, fired 10,000 workers and left a plot staff to destroy the files. Other foreign assistance groups such as the US Institute of Peace and the Millennium Hamon Corporation have also aroused.
As a result, programs tied to the international American presence – including the State Department – lost about $ 2 billion in spending in the first four months of 2025.
DOGE Engineers followed Elon's rule: cut 20% more than necessary, then return people if something breaks. He said to his staff, “If you are not hurt, you will not be cut off enough.” So people are hurting. Bird flu scientists, nuclear workers, and even medical device regulators have lost their jobs, so some are quietly registering.
The Department of Education first officially triggered a reduction in strength. Nearly 1,300 workers were cut off, over 30% of the department. This is just one of the places where spending drops as its budget drops $ 10 billion a year.
DOGE's latest project focuses on immigration. Elon's team is trying to create a national database to track migrants entering the US and making deportation faster and easier.
By March, the suits hit hard. At least 60 different legal actions were filed against Doge. Republicans in town halls are roasted by pissed-off constituents. Veterans, rural patients, parents – all are furious. The polls showed Americans that DOGE did not like, and Elon's approval dropped under Trump.
The Democrats took advantage of it. They called Elon an unlucky billionaire with excessive strength. In an election in the Supreme Court of Wisconsin earlier this month, which became a public referendum in Doge, Elon disappeared – bad.
Inside the government, things fell as well. Elon fought with state secretary Marco Rubio, transportation secretary Sean Duffy, and Treasury secretary Scott Bessent. Defense Secretary Pete Hegsetth did not support the deepest cuts and tried to hinder them silently.
Elon's own life struck. Forbes reported his net worth more than $ 100 billion since December. Tesla's sales and stocks crashed after public boycotts. His personal safety is also at risk. People are attacking Tesla vehicles. The Department of Justice said some of these attacks are counted as domestic terrorism. Elon admitted that he was scared.
At the Tesla's call of revenue last week, after a 71% fall on net revenue, Elon told shareholders that he was cutting his work in government. He said he would only be given “one day or two” each week to move forward.
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