DOGE Seeks $1 Trillion In Government Cuts
March 7, 2025–In a fiery White House meeting on Thursday that pitted Elon Musk against Cabinet officials, President Trump signaled that the appointed secretaries would have the lead role over their various departments. It’s notable because up until now Musk has seemingly upstaged Cabinet officials over decisions on federal employment decisions.
Uncertainty over the U.S. government overhaul impacts citizens, employees, and investors. Today, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed would wait for greater clarity before deciding what direction to take. Powell added that changes in trade, regulation, fiscal policy, and immigration would impact the economy.
Who’s In Charge?
During the first months of Trump’s second term, the power struggle within the administration soon became apparent. The newly created Department of Government Efficiency has been aggressively targeting government agencies, demanding access to sensitive data, and submitting government-wide emails insisting employees account for their time.
Tension reached a boiling point this week. Several news outlets reported about a tense Cabinet meeting at the White House yesterday, mainly as Secretary of State Marco Rubio pushed back against Musk’s demands that he hadn’t fired enough employees. Musk had previously challenged Rubio’s role in overseeing USAID and calling for the agency’s elimination. The New York Times reported that other Cabinet officials, namely Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins also pushed back against Musk’s authority over their departments.
Asked about the conflict during a press pool, Trump told the reporter, “You’re not supposed to be asking about that.”
Musk’s Controversial Role
At the first Cabinet meeting in late February, Musk announced plans to cut the annual budget by $1 trillion. Though Congress is tasked with controlling the budget, it’s a novel idea to trim federal spending through a program like DOGE. It’s also one that is not necessarily legal. DOGE is facing at least four lawsuits that allege violations of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), which mandates transparency and public access to the activities of federal advisory committees. Meanwhile, attorneys have filed hundreds of lawsuits over the Trump administration’s executive orders filed since taking office.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill complain that Musk is an official who has not been elected or approved through the nomination process and is making drastic changes to the government. That’s compounded by his role in several companies that do business with the government and fall under federal regulation.
For example, SpaceX took in $3.7B in federal contracts in FY2024. Tesla’s federal contracts and tax incentives added up to $631,000 between 2022-2024. Meanwhile, Neuralink is dependent on FDA approval. The Washington Post estimates that Musk’s businesses received a total of $38 billion over the years.
