A DOGE-gone shame: Musk's $2 trillion in promised cuts shrinks even more

Co-President Elon Musk dramatically scaled back the amount of "savings" his so-called Department of Government Efficiency will find in the federal government, basically admitting that his effort to slash spending will fall far short of the grandiose goals he initially set.At a Cabinet meeting on Thursday—during which Trump officials heaped disgusting amounts of praise on Dear Leader Donald Trump—Musk said DOGE will find just $150 billion in cuts."Thanks to your fantastic leadership, this amazing Cabinet, and the very talented DOGE team, I am excited to announce that we anticipate savings in FY26 from reduction of waste and fraud by $150 billion," Musk said at the Cabinet meeting. xxYouTube Video While Musk made this out to be some sort of major victory, $150 billion is a pittance compared to the $2 trillion he once promised to cut. It's also going to be impossible to check DOGE's savings math, as Musk and his minions have so far posted inaccurate data detailing what they've cut, and then stopped providing data on purported savings altogether once they were called out.What's more, since Musk set out on his quest to cut the budget, federal spending actually went up, with the government spending more money on social safety net programs as well as to finance the national debt.What we do know, however, is that DOGE's cuts have done more to hurt than help.DOGE has fired thousands of federal employees—many of them veterans—in a cruel and haphazard way that will make it harder for Americans to get their Social Security benefits. The illegal firings will also negatively impact the accuracy of weather reporting, medical research, and disease mitigation. Worse, thousands of children in developing nations will die, after Musk helped lead the effort to cut foreign aid and gut the U.S. Agency for International Development.And experts say that the DOGE-related cuts at the Internal Revenue Service will actually explode the national debt even more, as there will be fewer staff working to find wealthy tax cheats.“Musk DOGE savings promises: $2 trillion -> $1 trillion -> $150 billion,” Jessica Riedl, an economist at the conservative Manhattan Institute, wrote in a post on X. “Final spending savings will likely come in well below $150 billion, and the lost tax revenue from IRS layoffs will likely push DOGE into worsening budget deficits. This was never about fixing the budget.”Musk's failure comes amid reports that he is on his way out of the Trump administration after his unpopularity helped sink Republicans in a critical state Supreme Court election in Wisconsin, and led Republicans to severely underperform in two congressional special elections in Florida.Sad! Thank you to the Daily Kos community who continues to fight so hard with Daily Kos. Your reader support means everything. We will continue to have you covered and keep you informed, so please donate just $3 to help support the work we do.

Co-President Elon Musk dramatically scaled back the amount of "savings" his so-called Department of Government Efficiency will find in the federal government, basically admitting that his effort to slash spending will fall far short of the grandiose goals he initially set. At a Cabinet meeting on Thursday—during which Trump officials heaped disgusting amounts of praise on Dear Leader Donald Trump—Musk said DOGE will find just $150 billion in cuts. "Thanks to your fantastic leadership, this amazing Cabinet, and the very talented DOGE team, I am excited to announce that we anticipate savings in FY26 from reduction of waste and fraud by $150 billion," Musk said at the Cabinet meeting.

x x YouTube Video While Musk made this out to be some sort of major victory, $150 billion is a pittance compared to the $2 trillion he once promised to cut. It's also going to be impossible to check DOGE's savings math, as Musk and his minions have so far posted inaccurate data detailing what they've cut , and then stopped providing data on purported savings altogether once they were called out. What's more, since Musk set out on his quest to cut the budget, federal spending actually went up , with the government spending more money on social safety net programs as well as to finance the national debt.

What we do know, however, is that DOGE's cuts have done more to hurt than help. DOGE has fired thousands of federal employees—many of them veterans—in a cruel and haphazard way that will make it harder for Americans to get their Social Security benefits . The illegal firings will also negatively impact the accuracy of weather reporting , medical research , and disease mitigation .

Worse, thousands of children in developing nations will die , after Musk helped lead the effort to cut foreign aid and gut the U.S. Agency for International Development.

And experts say that the DOGE-related cuts at the Internal Revenue Service will actually explode the national debt even more , as there will be fewer staff working to find wealthy tax cheats. “Musk DOGE savings promises: $2 trillion -> $1 trillion -> $150 billion,” Jessica Riedl, an economist at the conservative Manhattan Institute, wrote in a post on X. “Final spending savings will likely come in well below $150 billion, and the lost tax revenue from IRS layoffs will likely push DOGE into worsening budget deficits.

This was never about fixing the budget.” Musk's failure comes amid reports that he is on his way out of the Trump administration after his unpopularity helped sink Republicans in a critical state Supreme Court election in Wisconsin, and led Republicans to severely underperform in two congressional special elections in Florida. Sad! Thank you to the Daily Kos community who continues to fight so hard with Daily Kos.

Your reader support means everything. We will continue to have you covered and keep you informed, so please donate just $3 to help support the work we do..