Elon Musk blew into Washington after predicting he could deliver at least $2 trillion in cuts to the federal budget. That was the pledge he made to a roaring crowd in Madison Square Garden just before the election last year. After he arrived in D.C., the target was cut in half, but Musk’s goal was still wildly ambitious—and his confidence never wavered.
“Our goal is to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars,” Musk said in an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier in March. “The government is not efficient, and there’s a lot of waste and fraud, so we feel confident that a 15 percent reduction can be done without affecting any of the critical government services.”
Now, as the Trump administration hits the 100-day mark and Musk takes a step back from his government role, it looks more likely than ever that DOGE will miss his ambitious cost-cutting targets. And even the “estimated savings” of $160 billion so far, touted by DOGE on its website, almost certainly are drastically overstated.
Musk’s exit plans are opening the door for some Republican lawmakers and White House officials to agree with skeptics who study the federal budget and always said that his target of $1 trillion in savings was a pipe dream.