Billionaire businessman Elon Musk indicated on Thursday that his efforts to streamline the US government was likely to conclude by May. The Department of Government Efficiency was created earlier this year to reduce the federal workforce and weed out what President Donald Trump and Musk see as a waste of taxpayer funds.
“Our goal is to reduce the deficit by a trillion dollars…The government is not efficient, and there is a lot of waste and fraud, so we feel confident that a 15% reduction can be done without affecting any of the critical government services,” Musk told Fox News.
The Tesla and SpaceX chief was appointed as a ‘special government employee’ by the White House as Donald Trump took over as US President. His work was capped at 130 days — signaling a likely end to DOGE operation by the end of May. Musk also indicated during the Thursday interview with Bret Baier that his team was likely to finish “ most of the work” within that timeframe.
The interview took place amid nationwide protests against Musk and his team as well as numerous lawsuits that claim DOGE acted without legal authority and violated privacy laws. Musk has countered the legal pushback and judicial rulings against the Trump administration by calling on Congress to impeach judges and drastically overhaul the system. Groups funded by Musk have also poured more than $17 million into a fiercely contested Supreme Court election this month — including million dollar rewards for a couple of Wisconsin voters. The election will fill a seat in the state Supreme Court that is currently held by a liberal judge and may flip the court to a conservative majority.
DOGE estimates that it has saved US taxpayers $115 billion as of March 24 through various initiatives including workforce reductions, asset sales and contract cancellations. The number published on its website has however undergone several revisions and remains unverifiable. Reports citing budget experts claim that Musk cannot reach his target without touching entitlement programs like Social Security — which Trump has vowed not to cut.
“Legitimate recipients of social security will receive more money not less money. Let the record show that I said this,” Musk insisted on Thursday.
His team has rapidly accumulated power since Trump took over — leading the dismantling of global USAID operations as well as firing thousands of government workers. DOGE had planned to lay off or offer buyouts to 100,000 federal employees as it seems to streamline spending. However courts have since ordered thousands of workers to be reinstated after finding that they were fired illegally.
“Basically almost no one has gotten fired,” the Tesla chief told Bret Baier during the interview.
Members of the team as well as Musk allies have also gained unprecedented access to sensitive government data and acquired key positions at major government agencies.