Elon Musk, Who Promised To Be 'Maximally Transparent,' Makes DOGE's Numbers Even Harder To Check
The cost-cutting initiative's calculation of "estimated savings" is mostly mysterious, and the parts we know about are riddled with errors.
Government Spending
If You Want To Cut Government Spending, You Can't Ignore the Pentagon
Since Congress began requiring annual audits in 2018, the Department of Defense has never passed.
Biden Rushed Out Billions for Green Energy Projects Before Trump Took Office
The outgoing administration shoveled out loans for projects that private lenders wouldn't fund.
The House's Budget Bill Cuts Earmarks, but Spending Will Be Going Up Anyway
Every cut helps, but that's not where the money is.
Congress and DOGE Can Find Spending Cuts at the Department of Defense
The U.S. can defend itself at a lot less expense.
Republicans May Regret Undermining Judicial Independence
Threats to impeach federal judges who rule against the government are a naked attack on their constitutionally crucial function.
Medicare Deserves Attention From DOGE and Congress
Reform could replace an unsustainable boondoggle with lower costs, more freedom, and better care.
Yes, Cutting Government Waste Is Important
Entitlements are a much bigger expense, but that doesn't mean the waste doesn't matter.
Contrary to What Trump Said, Even DOGE Does Not Claim To Have Identified 'Hundreds of Billions' in Fraud
The president's assertion is divorced from reality, and so are the "estimated savings" touted by Elon Musk.
Trump Promised a Balanced Budget. Don't Believe It.
It's great to have presidents talking about the need for a balanced budget, but Republicans are backing a plan that will increase borrowing.
DOGE and Congress Should Take a Chainsaw to Corporate Welfare
Handouts to corporations distort the market, breed corruption, and politicize the economy.
The Best Part of Trump's Speech Was the List of Spending Cuts
If only they were as big as the list of new spending.
DOGE Goes Deep State
A smaller government with a more powerful set of unaccountable executive officials is unlikely to be much of a win for liberty.
Hey DOGE: If You Want To Make Yourself Useful, Kill the Federal Energy Loan Program
The federal government has no business being a bank.
DOGE and Congress Should Look Hard at Reforming Social Security
Means-test Social Security, raise the retirement age, and let us invest our own money.
How Would Milton Friedman Do DOGE?
If the Department of Government Efficiency goes about this the wrong way, we could be left with both a presidency on steroids and no meaningful reduction in government.
Trump Promised To Lower Prices. Will Congress Help Him Deliver?
At the current rate of inflation, the dollar will lose 33 cents of purchasing power within a decade.
Interest Rates Are Falling—Thank Government Spending Cuts for That
Cuts to government spending mean fewer bonds, lower borrowing costs, and potentially a break for borrowers.
Elon Musk, Who Supposedly Is Running DOGE, Is Not Officially in Charge of Anything
The presidential adviser's lack of formal authority complicates his cost-cutting mission.
The House GOP Budget Blueprint Promises More Borrowing, More Debt, and Not Enough Spending Cuts
"If the Republican budget passes, the deficit gets worse, not better," says Rep. Thomas Massie. He's right.
Research Says Big Federal Grants to Local Governments Breed Corruption
DOGE may not just save money; it may encourage honesty.
The Sunny Side of Donald Trump's Power Grabs
The president is positioning himself to have much greater control over a smaller, enfeebled federal bureaucracy.
To Cut Government Spending, Trump Targets Pocket Change
The penny is expensive to produce and has long outlived its usefulness.
Americans Say Government Is Corrupt and Inefficient but Are Lukewarm About DOGE
Democrats seem willing to tolerate a lot to get a larger government, but Republicans aren’t much better.
Meaningful Pentagon Cuts Will Require Rethinking What 'Defense' Means
If Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is serious about reducing military spending, he will need to embrace a narrower understanding of national security.
The New Republican Budget Plan Is Unserious
It tries to offset as much as $4.8 trillion—mostly for tax cut extensions—with only $1.5 trillion in supposed spending reductions.
Rand Paul Wants DOGE To Build a $500 Billion Rescission Package for Congress To Approve
"The only way you get less waste is to give them less money to spend," says the libertarian-adjacent senator from Kentucky.
Social Security's Insolvency Is Driven by Benefits for the Living, Not Fraud by the Dead
Elon Musk claims to have uncovered massive fraud within Social Security, but those data are already well known and not a major problem.
Justin Amash on Why the President Isn't Above the Law
Plus: A listener asks the editors to guess if the real reason Donald Trump is so passionate about tariffs is because he sees them as a deal-making tool rather than a purely economic instrument.
DOGE Needs Data To Survive. These Lawsuits Are Trying To Starve It of Information.
Nearly a dozen lawsuits allege that DOGE's access to government payment and personnel systems violates a litany of federal privacy and record-handling laws.
Trump May Have To Grapple with Returning Inflation
Cutting government spending and calling off the trade war would be steps in the right direction.
The Disappointing Results of Trump's 'Deferred Resignation' Plan Are Part of a Pattern
Elon Musk, the president's cost-cutting czar, has a habit of overpromising and underdelivering.
DOGE Begins Publishing Data After Transparency Complaints
After Elon Musk promised "maximum transparency," the DOGE's website posted organizational charts of federal agencies and statistics on the federal work force.
I Tried To Fix Government Tech for Years. I'm Fed Up.
Maybe DOGE will succeed where the U.S. Digital Service (mostly) failed.
DOGE Is Good. It's Not Enough.
Even if the Department of Government Efficiency eliminates all improper payments and fraud, we'll still be facing a debt explosion—which requires structural reform.
Elon Musk Implausibly Claims 'Competence and Caring' Can Cut the Federal Budget Deficit in Half
The DOGE director wildly exaggerates what can be accomplished by tackling "waste, fraud, and abuse" in government spending without new legislation.
The DOGE Bait and Switch
The pretend department’s downgraded mission reflects the gap between Trump’s promise of "smaller government" and the reality of what can be achieved without new legislation.
Will Trump Try To Shut Down the Department of Education?
While Trump can't dissolve the department by executive action, getting rid of it through legislation is still a good idea.
Trump's Empty and Expensive Plan To Build 250 Statues of 'American Heroes'
The president's planned National Garden of American Heroes might be a nice idea, but it would be extremely costly—and unnecessary.
Kill the Federal Department of Education
We could decentralize education, improve outcomes, and help reduce the size of the federal Leviathan.
Can the Trump Administration Unilaterally Cut Indirect Costs for NIH Grants?
As with some other recent executive branch actions, the Trump Administration appears to have overreached.
Will Elon Musk Cut as Much Government as Al Gore Did?
In the early 1990s, Bill Clinton's administration set out to "reinvent" government. What can the mercurial Tesla CEO learn from their efforts?
Has DOGE Already Lost Its Way?
Much cutting. Very waste. But the Department of Government Efficiency might not have the legal and budgetary chops to actually reduce spending.
Washington's Debt Delusion: Economic Growth Cannot Fix the Deficit
Republicans are betting trillions on the hope that the economy will grow fast enough to cover their deficit spree.
Wasteful FEMA Spending Topped $9 Billion During the Pandemic
One grant for $1.1 billion was supported by one sheet of paper and didn’t include itemized costs for the project.
