When Elon Musk joined the Trump administration with the goal of eliminating waste, fraud and abuse through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), he set a lofty $2 trillion goal.
Now, four months later, DOGE has cut roughly $170 billion - a figure much lower than projected - in no small part due to activist judges and political pushback which have stopped the Trump administration from eliminating wide swaths of government bloat.
On Tuesday, Musk said it was up to Congress to make it happen.
"The ability of Doge to operate is a function of whether the government, and this includes the Congress, is willing to take our advice," Musk said while speaking at an economic forum in Qatar.
"We are not the dictators of the government. We are the advisors, and so we can, we can advise, and the progress we've made thus far, I think, is incredible," Musk continued. "Doge team has done incredible work, but the magnitude of the savings is proportionate to the support we get from Congress and from the executive branch of the government in general. So we're not the dictators we all the advisors. But thus far, for advisors. We've been to the George team, to their credit, has made incredible progress."
🚨 Elon Musk on DOGE:
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) May 20, 2025
"The ability of Doge to operate is a function of whether the government, and this includes the Congress, is willing to take our advice. We are not the dictators of the government. We are the advisors, and so we can, we can advise, and the progress we've… pic.twitter.com/9RrK2rCxK2
h/t @DogeDesigner
As we noted in February, it will be Congress that decides the endgame...
You cut enough spending - even if it's all grift and fraud - you eventually get a recession, guaranteed.
That's all Congress is waiting for cause then they use the "emergency" to vote through a far greater spending package ("will someone please think of all the unemployed") one which eclipses all of DOGE's spending cuts.
What Musk is doing in trying to streamline the govt is admirable but ultimately it will be Congress that decides the endgame.
And there things are as status quo as always.
'Unless I die'
In a humorous exchange, Musk said that he's still committed to being Tesla CEO in five years' time - unless he's dead.
A moderator asked: “Do you see yourself and are you committed to still being the chief executive of Tesla in five years’ time?”
Musk responded: “Yes.”
The moderator pushed further: “No doubt about that at all?”
Musk added, chuckling: “I can't be still here if I'm dead."
